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Updated: Jan 8, 2026

MitoCeption: Transferring Isolated Human MSC Mitochondria to Glioblastoma Stem Cells
Published on: February 22, 2017
Leveraging engineered mitochondria through intercellular communication network for accelerated transport and delivery
Yiwei Peng1, Datong Gao1, Yiliang Yang1
1Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmaceutics and New Drug Delivery System, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, PR China.
Abstract:
Inspired by the non-transmembrane transfer of mitochondria in cell-to-cell communications, herein, we report an original exploration to accelerate mitochondrial intercellular transport, and its application to exogenous cargo delivery. We discover that deliberate PINK1-targeted mitophagy downregulation elevates mitochondrial transit capacity via multifaceted drivers-morphological adaptation, metabolic reprogramming, and respiratory enhancement. Capitalizing on this, we engineer high-speed mitochondrial vehicles for photosensitizer hitchhiking, with spatiotemporal tracking elucidating its dynamic intercellular transit and physiological impacts. Through mitochondria's communication network-tunneling nanotubes (TNTs), the mitochondria-photosensitizer cotransporter achieves reinforced intercellular delivery, thereby inducing deep tumor penetration and enhanced photodynamic killing. Our work establishes a transformative mitochondria-hitchhiking platform for overcoming biological barriers in drug delivery and provides mechanistic insights into manipulating intercellular organelle transport for therapeutic applications.
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