The MARVEL trial: a phase 2b randomised placebo-controlled trial of oral MitoQ in moderate ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory disease of the large bowel which is characterised by dysregulated immunity and death to epithelial cells in the bowel, leading to prolonged inflammation. This can ultimately lead to surgery to remove the large bowel, with a risk of cancer developing if inflammation persists. Current therapies – which target the incoming immune cells or the cytokines they produce – are improving significantly but they are expensive and are immunosuppressive, leading to risk of infection. Here, we discuss a new trial which targets an early inducer of inflammation – the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by mitochondria. Previous work has shown that excessive mitochondrial ROS induces inflammatory signalling through the cGAS-STING pathway, leading to dysregulated immunity and death of epithelial cells. In this MARVEL trial (Mitochondrial Anti-oxidant therapy to Resolve Inflammation in Ulcerative Colitis) individuals with an active UC flare-up will be given a mitochondrial anti-oxidant (MitoQ) or placebo tablet in addition to standard medical treatment, in order to suppress inflammation as it develops. This phase 2b trial will repurpose MitoQ, which has been previously tested in other large trials in different disease settings, and will measure clinical response and markers of inflammation over 24 weeks. It is hoped that this trial will develop a new target for UC through re-purposing a relatively cheap, non-toxic and well-characterised drug.