Mitochondria-Targeted Antioxidant SkQ1 Accelerates Maturation in Campbell Dwarf Hamsters (Phodopus campbelli)

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K. A. Rogovin^1,2*, A. M. Khrushcheva¹, O. N. Shekarova¹, M. V. Ushakova¹, V. N. Manskikh³, and N. Yu. Vasilieva¹

¹Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky pr. 33, 119071 Moscow, Russia

²Biological Faculty, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia; E-mail: krogovin@yandex.ru

³Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received April 9, 2014

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We tested two hypotheses. 1) SkQ1 positively affects postnatal development of hamsters in litters born to parents receiving long-term SkQ1 treatment. 2) SkQ1 accelerates maturation of juvenile females receiving the antioxidant treatment from 10 days of age. Parental pairs were kept in an outdoor vivarium under conditions close to natural. At the age of 25 days, juvenile males in litters born to parents treated daily with SkQ1 (50 nmol/kg per os) had higher epididymis mass. Both the size of a litter and SkQ1 affected epididymis mass in young males. Both the litter size and SkQ1 affected uterus mass in 25-day-old females. Juvenile females who received SkQ1 treatment from 10 days of age demonstrated earlier opening of the vagina. This experiment was replicated with the same result. At the age of 2.5 months, virgin females treated with SkQ1 from the early age demonstrated higher ovary mass.

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KEY WORDS: SkQ1, antioxidants, mitochondria, maturation, lifespan, Campbell dwarf hamsters

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297914100125

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