Mitochondria Organelle Transplantation: The Mitochondrion, "An Intracellular Organelle for Cell-Based Therapy" Opinion Commentary

Mitochondria are powerful intracellular organelles involved in many vital cellular functions especially cellular respiration and energy production. Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with many human diseases including cancer and neurodegenerative disease. Warburg showed in the 1920s that defective mitochondrial respiration altered tumor cell metabolism with a shift to glycolysis, an initiating step in tumorigenesis. We have recently supported Warburg’s mitochondrial dysfunction theory of cancer by transplanting normal isolated mitochondria into cancer cells. This organelle transfer decreased proliferation, lactate production and increased drug sensitivity of the cancer cells. Confirmation of organelle transfer was done by confocal and fluorescent microscopy. In conclusion, this early evidence supported transplantation of normal exogenous mitochondria as possible therapy for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. The mitochondrion could be a biologic intracellular organelle for cell based therapy.