The mitochondria is close to transitioning from an intracellular organelle to a therapeutic agent. Before its full application to patients it is important to understand key aspects regarding its extracellular survival and interaction with host cells and tissues. As new and exciting research is being evidenced, such as the presence of functional mitochondria outside cells in blood and their genetic editing, a concerted effort is required to understand how mitochondria could be applied to treat diseases and lesions and to what extent. The development of new therapeutic options in medicine has been hampered by the lack of consensus among practices, how assays are performed, and how results are published. The Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), Mitochondrion, the Universidad de los Andes in Chile (UANDES), Cells for Cells, the School of Medicine USFQ, Medical Students Association USFQ, the iBioMed Institute USFQ, Dragon BioMed USFQ and ThermoFisher Scientific collaborate to launch the special issue and online webinar “Advances of mitochondria as a therapeutic agent”.
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Advances of mitochondria as a therapeutic agent / Alexander G Rabchevsky, Invitation
