Probing the Role of Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress in Impaired Vascular Function Among Young Adults With Early Life Adversity

Summary

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) represent highly stressful events in the first 18 years of life that include abuse, neglect, and household and community-level dysfunction. Greater exposure to ACEs are associated with greater increases in the risk of cardiovascular diseases and death. Our laboratory has previously observed that vascular function is disrupted in young adults with prior ACE exposure, even though these individuals appear to be healthy clinically (i.e., no classic clinical cardiovascular disease risk factors). There is a need to identify and understand the biological mechanisms underlying these vascular impairments to inform effective interventions to reduce cardiovascular risks the millions of individuals affected by ACEs.

The body's response to stress is coordinated across various systems, all of which depend on energy supplied by mitochondria (often referred to as the "powerhouse of cells"). Based on new evidence across multiple physiological systems from our team, our overarching hypothesis is that disruption of mitochondrial function contributes to cardiovascular impairments among young adults with ACEs. Here we propose the initial pilot work necessary to begin to understand these associations, which will directly inform identification of individuals who may be most vulnerable to stress-related cardiovascular risk and the development of interventions to promote cardiovascular-stress resilience.

Our aims are to:

1. Determine whether mitochondrial oxidative stress contributes to impaired vascular function among young adults who experienced early life adversity.
2. Determine whether reducing mitochondrial oxidative stress improves the cellular stress and integrated cardiovascular response to laboratory-based psychosocial stress among young adults who experienced early life adversity.

Conditions

• Adverse Childhood Experience
• Endothelial Function (FMD)
• Endothelial Injury
• Mitochondrial Function
• Oxidative Stress
• Psychosocial Influence on Cardiovascular Disease

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Mitoquinone mesylate (MitoQ)

Participants will consume a single 160 mg dose of mitoquinone mesylate, provided in the form of 6, 20 mg capsules, with water.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo

Participants will consume a single 160 mg dose of microcrystalline cellulose and tapioca (placebo), provided in 20 mg capsules, with water.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• MitoQ Limited

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• University of Iowa

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

29 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-10-13

Primary Completion

2026-07-31

Completion

2026-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations