Table 1.
Summary of improvements demonstrated in animal studies (preclinical) in different conditions after applying mitochondrial transfer as therapy.
| Preclinical Trials | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Disease or Injury Model Animal | Outcomes | Title | Author |
| Cardiac ischemia (White Rabbits) |
The transplanted mitochondria enhanced oxygen consumption, high-energy phosphate synthesis, and the induction of cytokine mediators and proteomic pathways that are important in preserving myocardial energetics. | Transplantation of Autologously Derived Mitochondria Protects the Heart from Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury | Masuzawa et al. (2013) [65] |
| Middle cerebral artery occlusion (Rats) |
The transplantation of mitochondria decreased brain infarct volume and reversed neurological deficits. | Muscle-Derived Autologous Mitochondrial Transplantation: A Novel Strategy for Treating Cerebral Ischemic Injury | Zhang et al. (2019) [66] |
| Ischemia–reperfusion injury (IRI) (Pigs) |
Preischemic MT by single or serial intracoronary injections provides prophylactic myocardial protection from IRI. | Preischemic Autologous Mitochondrial Transplantation by Intracoronary Injection for Myocardial Protection | Guariento et al. (2018) [67] |
| Parkinson’s disease (Rats) |
Allogeneic and xenogeneic transplantation of peptide-labeled mitochondria after 3 months improved the locomotive activity in the PD rats. | Allogeneic/Xenogeneic Transplantation of Peptide-Labeled Mitochondria in Parkinson’s Disease: Restoration of Mitochondria Functions and Attenuation of 6-Hydroxydopamine-Induced Neurotoxicity | Chang et al. (2016) [68] |
| Brain ischemic (Rats) |
Significantly restored the motor performance. | Transferring Xenogenic Mitochondria Provides Neural Protection Against Ischemic Stress in Ischemic Rat Brains | Huang et al. (2016) [69] |
| Alzheimer’s disease (Mice) |
A significantly better cognitive performance was noticed in the mitochondria-treated AD mice. | Mitochondrial Transfer Ameliorates Cognitive Deficits, Neuronal Loss, and Gliosis in Alzheimer’s Disease Mice | Nitzan et al. (2019) [70] |
| Diabetic nephropathy (Mice) |
MSCs elicited macrophages into anti-inflammatory phenotype and ameliorated kidney injury through mitochondrial transfer. | Mitochondrial Transfer from Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Macrophages Restricts Inflammation and Alleviates Kidney Injury in Diabetic Nephropathy Mice via PGC-1α Activation. | Yuan et al. (2021) [71] |
| Diabetes (Rats) |
Isolated Mt also inhibited nuclear translocation of PGC-1α and restored the expression of megalin and SGLT2 under high glucose condition (HG) in PTECs. | Mitochondria Transfer from Mesenchymal Stem Cells Structurally and Functionally Repairs Renal Proximal Tubular Epithelial Cells in Diabetic Nephropathy in Vivo | Konari et al. (2019) [72] |
| Acute renal injury (Pigs) |
Mitochondrial transplantation by intra-arterial injection provides renal protection from ischemia–reperfusion injury. | Mitochondrial Transplantation by Intra-Arterial Injection for Acute Kidney Injury | Doulamis et al. (2020) [73] |