Abstract
Mitochondrial dysfunction has been proven to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. The phenomenon of intercellular mitochondrial transfer has been discovered in the cardiovascular system. Studies have shown that cell-to-cell mitochondrial transfer plays an essential role in regulating cardiovascular system development and maintaining normal tissue homeostasis under physiological conditions. In pathological conditions, damaged cells transfer dysfunctional mitochondria toward recipient cells to ask for help and take up exogenous functional mitochondria to alleviate injury. In this review, we summarized the mechanism of mitochondrial transfer in the cardiovascular system and outlined the fate and functional role of donor mitochondria. We also discussed the advantage and challenges of mitochondrial transfer strategies, including cell-based mitochondrial transplantation, extracellular vesicle-based mitochondrial transplantation, and naked mitochondrial transplantation, for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders. We hope this review will provide perspectives on mitochondrial-targeted therapeutics in cardiovascular diseases.
Highlights
Cardiovascular diseases refer to a group of disorders affecting the heart and blood vessels, including coronary artery disease, arrhythmia, hypertensive heart disease, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathy, et al [1, 2]
Studies have shown that mitochondrial transfer between vascular smooth muscle cells and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is required to promote stem cells proliferation [10]. These results suggest that intercellular mitochondrial transfer might play an important role in the regulation of cardiovascular system development
Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a crucial role in the development and progression of cardiovascular disorders, which provides the possibility for mitochondrial transfer as an effective therapeutic strategy in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases
Summary
Cardiovascular diseases refer to a group of disorders affecting the heart and blood vessels, including coronary artery disease (such as myocardial infarction), arrhythmia, hypertensive heart disease, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathy, et al [1, 2]. The mitochondrial transfer from embryonic cardiomyocytes to MSCs initiates stem cells differentiation toward cardiac cells, which might be an essential mechanism of stem cell-based therapies for cardiovascular disorders [22].
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