...We investigated the relationship between complex II and aging using human skin as a model tissue. The rate of complex II activity per unit of mitochondria was determined in fibroblasts and keratinocytes cultured from skin covering a wide age range. Complex II activity significantly decreased with age in fibroblasts (P = 0.015) but not in keratinocytes. This was associated with a significant decline in transcript expression (P = 0.008 and P = 0.001) and protein levels (P = 0.0006 and P = 0.005) of the succinate dehydrogenase complex subunit A and subunit B catalytic subunits of complex II, respectively. In addition, there was a significant decrease in complex II activity with age (P = 0.029) that was specific to senescent skin cells. There was no decrease in complex IV activity with increasing age, suggesting possible locality to complex II.