Author(s)

Xianpeng Jiang^1,2, Brent Segal², Mark S. Kindy^3,4, Catherine C. Baucom^1,2

¹Elliott Mitochondrial Center, Sallie Astor Burdine Breast Foundation, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
²Mitosense Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
³Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Taneja College of Pharmacy, Tampa, Florida, USA.
⁴Research Service, James A. Haley VA Medical Center, Tampa, Florida, USA.

Mitochondrial organelle transplantation (MOT) is an innovative strategy for the treatment of mitochondrial dysfunction such as cardiac ischemic reperfusion injuries, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, cerebral stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases. The earlier MOT results in better efficacy in animal models of urgent diseases such as ischemic stroke, and traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. There is no long-term method to preserve mitochondria. Routine MOT procedure from cell growth to mitochondrial injection often takes serval weeks and is not satisfactory for urgent use cases. Hypothesis: Cryopreserved cells might be mitochondrial donors for MOT. Methods: We isolated mitochondria from cryopreserved human fibroblasts and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in cell banks and compared the mitochondrial viability and transplantation with the mitochondria from fresh cells. Key findings: We found that mitochondria from fresh and cryopreserved cells are comparable in mitochondrial viability and transplantation. We also obtained data showing that mitochondria of fibroblasts and MSCs had similar membrane potential and transfer ability, but MSC’s mitochondria had higher ATP content than fibroblast’s mitochondria. In addition, oxygen consumption rates (OCRs) were higher in MSC’s mitochondria compared to fibroblast’s mitochondria and did not change between fresh and frozen cells. Conclusion: Cryopreserved fibroblasts and MSCs are alternative mitochondrial donors for MOT to fresh cells. MSCs could provide higher ATP-produced mitochondria than fibroblasts.

Mitochondria, Mitochondrial Organelle Transplantation, MOT, Cryopreservation, Fibroblasts, MSCs

Jiang, X. , Segal, B. , Kindy, M. and Baucom, C. (2024) Cryopreserved Fibroblast and Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) Being Alternative Mitochondrial Donors for Mitochondrial Organelle Transplantation (MOT). Journal of Biomaterials and Nanobiotechnology, 15, 65-77. doi: 10.4236/jbnb.2024.154005.