Longevity & AgingMitoCatch Delivers Healthy Mitochondria to Specific Cells, Rescuing Dying Neurons
Researchers at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel developed MitoCatch, a platform that delivers healthy mitochondria to specific cell types using engineered protein binders. Three complementary strategies were created: binders displayed on target cell surfaces (MitoCatch-C), binders on donor mitochondria surfaces (MitoCatch-M), and bispecific binders linking both (MitoCatch-Bi). Transplanted mitochondria were confirmed to enter cells, move along neurites, undergo fusion and fission, and integrate into the host mitochondrial network. The system successfully targeted retinal cells, neurons, cardiac cells, endothelial cells, and immune cells in humans and mice. Critically, transplanted mitochondria promoted survival of damaged neurons from a patient with optic nerve atrophy in vitro and reduced neuronal death after injury in mice in vivo, establishing a promising therapeutic strategy for mitochondrial dysfunction diseases.
