PQQ to prevent fatty liver in children of mothers with obesity
Official title: Evaluating PQQ for preventing maternal obesity-induced fetal programming of juvenile NAFLD in Papio anubis
Funded at University of Oklahoma Hlth Sciences Ctr · NIH-11296937 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are seeing whether giving the antioxidant PQQ around pregnancy can lower the chance that children born to mothers with obesity develop early fatty liver.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Oklahoma Hlth Sciences Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Oklahoma City, United States) |
| Project start | March 15, 2024 |
| Project end | February 28, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $602,977 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK139443-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11296937 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
The eventual target population would be people who are pregnant or planning pregnancy with obesity and their children.
✕Less likely to help
People whose liver disease is mainly due to alcohol, other unrelated causes, or those without maternal obesity are unlikely to benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
This project uses an olive baboon model that mimics human pregnancy and a Western-style diet to study how maternal obesity affects offspring liver health. Pregnant baboons exposed to obesity will receive PQQ or not, and their offspring will be followed into the juvenile period to measure liver fat, immune cell behavior, inflammation, and epigenetic changes. Scientists will analyze placenta, blood, and liver tissues to see if PQQ prevents the pro-inflammatory programming that raises NAFLD risk. Results are intended to inform whether similar pregnancy-era approaches could help prevent childhood fatty liver in humans.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, PQQ could point to a safe pregnancy intervention that reduces children's risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
How similar studies have gone: Rodent and early animal work suggest antioxidants including PQQ can reduce inflammation and metabolic problems, but effectiveness in humans has not been proven.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Oklahoma Hlth Sciences Ctr
Oklahoma City, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Jonscher, Karen R — University of Oklahoma Hlth Sciences Ctr
- Study coordinator: Jonscher, Karen R
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.