Coenzyme Q10 be measured in blood plasma, these measurements reflect dietary intake rather than tissue status. Currently, most clinical centers measure CoQ levels in cultured skin fibroblasts, muscle biopsies, and blood mononuclear cells. Culture fibroblasts can be used also to evaluate the rate of endogenous CoQ biosynthesis, by measuring the uptake of C-labelled "p"-hydroxybenzoate. CoQ shares a biosynthetic pathway with cholesterol. The synthesis of an intermediary precursor of CoQ, mevalonate, is inhibited by some beta blockers, blood pressure-lowering medication, and statins, a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs. Statins can reduce serum levels of CoQ by up to 40%. CoQ is not approved by
Discovery and development of statins is needed for normal cell function and inhibition in non-hepatic cells could possibly be harmful. The essential structural components of all statins are a dihydroxyheptanoic acid unit and a ring system with different substituents. The statin pharmacophore is modified hydroxyglutaric acid component, which is structurally similar to the endogenous substrate HMG CoA and the mevaldyl CoA transition state intermediate (Figure 1). The statin pharmacophore binds to the same active site as the substrate HMG-CoA and inhibits the HMGR enzyme. It has also been shown that the HMGR is stereoselective and as a result all statins need to have the required