Encapsulated mitochondrial transplantation: Advancing organelle therapeutics

In a recent study published in Cell, Du and colleagues developed an erythrocyte membrane-based mitochondrial encapsulation platform that enables efficient transfer of functional mitochondria across cells and tissues, thereby overcoming a major delivery bottleneck in conventional mitochondrial transplantation. 1 Encapsulated mitochondria restored mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content and bioenergetic function, reduced pathogenic heteroplasmy in patient-derived mitochondrial disease models, and improved pathological phenotypes in mouse models of Leigh syndrome, mtDNA depletion syndrome, and Parkinson’s disease, highlighting the translational potential of engineered mitochondrial transplantation for organelle therapeutics.