Immune Modulation of Platelet-Derived Mitochondria on Memory CD4⁺ T Cells in Humans

CD4⁺ T cells are one of the key immune cells contributing to the immunopathogenesis of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Previous studies have reported that platelet-derived mitochondria suppress the proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). To further characterize the immune modulation of platelet-derived mitochondria, the purified CD4⁺ T cells were treated, respectively, with platelet-derived mitochondria. The data demonstrated that MitoTracker Deep Red-labeled platelet-derived mitochondria could directly target CD4⁺ T cells through C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and its ligand stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), regulating the anti-CD3/CD28 bead-activated CD4⁺ T cells. The result was an up-regulation of Naïve and central memory (T_CM) CD4⁺ T cells, the down-regulation of effector memory (T_EM) CD4⁺ T cells, and modulations of cytokine productions and gene expressions. Thus, platelet-derived mitochondria have a translational potential as novel immune modulators to treat T1D and other autoimmune diseases.