Mitochondrial and photosynthetic therapy: A crucial strategy for remodeling cellular metabolic function

Extranuclear organelle transplantation, an emerging field in cell biology and bioengineering, presents innovative therapeutic possibilities by transferring organelles such as mitochondria between cells or across species. In living organisms, mitochondria and chloroplasts are closely related to converting substances and energy within cells. Transplantation therapy of mitochondria seeks to rebuild cell metabolic function in diseased or damaged cells and has broad application potential in treating metabolic diseases. The therapies provide a distinctive technology for cellular restoration by targeting energy generation at the organelle level, which will offer new energy resources for animal cells. At present, mitochondrial transplantation therapy has been applied as a novel approach to rescue patients in clinical settings, and chloroplast-based transplantation endows animal cells to utilize light energy (photosynthetic animal cells). In this review, we discuss the exciting development and application prospects of mitochondrial and photosynthetic therapy in biomedicine. The technology of extranuclear transplantation would exert innovative and profound impacts on biological therapy.