Ueda Keita, Imai Takao, Okayasu Tadao, Tanaka Tatsuhide, Tatsumi Kouko, Wanaka Akio, Kitahara Tadashi
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Nara Medical University, Japan.
Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Nara Medical University, Japan.
Biochem Biophys Rep. 2025 Apr 30;42:102033. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrep.2025.102033. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Otoliths play an important role in maintaining body balance, and age-related decline in theis function and morphological integrity can lead to falls. In recent years, the herbal medicine rikkunshito (RKT) and the antioxidant coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) have been studied for their anti-aging properties; however, their effects on otoliths remain unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether RKT and CoQ10 can prevent age-related functional and morphological changes in otoliths. To this end, 30 male and 30 female 8-week-old C57BL6N mice were used in this study. The mice were divided into three groups: a control group, CoQ10 group (0.2 % CoQ10 special diet), and RKT group (3 % RKT special diet). At 80 weeks of age, micro-computed tomography (μCT) images were taken and analyzed for otolith volume and CT number. Furthermore, eye movements induced by the linear vestibulo-ocular reflex (LVOR) were analyzed to assess otolith function.
revealed that the RKT group had a significantly smaller volume of the 3 dimensional utriclar CT model (male mice; p = 0.0281, Steel test) and a significantly higher utricular CT number (male mice; p = 0.0104, Dunnett test) than the control group. The RKT group had a significantly weaker LVOR (male mice; lateral 1.3G stimulation; p = 0.00681, Dunnett test) (male mice; longitudinal 1.3G stimulation; p = 0.0183, Dunnett test) (male mice; longitudinal 0.7G stimulation; p = 0.00322, Dunnett test) than the control group. The CoQ10 group exhibited a significantly stronger utricle-induced LVOR than the control group (female mice; lateral 0.7G stimulation; p = 0.0133, Steel test).In conclusion, RKT prevented age-related utricular morphological changes, but did not prevent age-related otolith functional changes in male mice. CoQ10 prevented age-related utricular functional changes for low frequency stimulation in female mice.
耳石在维持身体平衡中起重要作用，其功能和形态完整性的与年龄相关的衰退会导致跌倒。近年来，草药六君子汤（RKT）和抗氧化剂辅酶Q10（CoQ10）因其抗衰老特性而受到研究；然而，它们对耳石的影响仍不清楚。因此，我们旨在研究RKT和CoQ10是否能预防耳石与年龄相关的功能和形态变化。为此，本研究使用了30只8周龄的雄性和30只雌性C57BL6N小鼠。将小鼠分为三组：对照组、CoQ10组（0.2%CoQ10特殊饮食）和RKT组（3%RKT特殊饮食）。在80周龄时，拍摄微计算机断层扫描（μCT）图像并分析耳石体积和CT值。此外，分析由线性前庭眼反射（LVOR）诱发的眼球运动以评估耳石功能。
显示RKT组三维椭圆囊CT模型的体积明显小于对照组（雄性小鼠；p = 0.0281，Steel检验），椭圆囊CT值明显高于对照组（雄性小鼠；p = 0.0104，Dunnett检验）。RKT组的LVOR明显弱于对照组（雄性小鼠；横向1.3G刺激；p = 0.00681，Dunnett检验）（雄性小鼠；纵向1.3G刺激；p = 0.0183，Dunnett检验）（雄性小鼠；纵向0.7G刺激；p = 0.00322，Dunnett检验）。CoQ10组椭圆囊诱发的LVOR明显强于对照组（雌性小鼠；横向0.7G刺激；p = 0.0133，Steel检验）。总之，RKT预防了雄性小鼠与年龄相关的椭圆囊形态变化，但未预防与年龄相关的耳石功能变化。CoQ10预防了雌性小鼠低频刺激下与年龄相关的椭圆囊功能变化。
