Autologous mitochondrial transplantation in male mice as a strategy to prevent deleterious effects of peripheral ischemia-reperfusion.

Ischemia-reperfusion (IR) is known to induce severe tissue damage, notably through mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondrial transplantation has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy in cardiac IR; however, few studies have previously assessed its efficacy in the context of peripheral IR. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the effect of mitochondrial transplantation in a hindlimb model of IR injury. Thirty-six SWISS mice were divided into three groups: control (CTL, n = 12), ischemia-reperfusion (IR, n = 12), and IR with mitochondrial transplantation (MT, n = 12). Ischemia (2 h) was induced using the tourniquet model around the right hind limb in the IR and MT groups. In MT group, mitochondria isolated from the right rectus muscle, a nonischemic region, were injected shortly before reperfusion. Mitochondrial respiration, calcium retention capacity, and Western blotting analysis were performed 2 h after reperfusion. Compared with the CTL group, IR led to a decrease in the mitochondrial respiratory capacity, particularly for the basal state (-30%; P = 0.015), oxidative phosphorylation (-36%; P = 0.024), and calcium retention capacity (-45%; P = 0.007). Interestingly, mitochondrial transplantation partially restored these functions since no differences between MT and CTL groups were found. In addition, the administration of healthy mitochondria resulted in a positive regulation of redox balance and mitochondrial dynamics within the skeletal muscle. Although further investigations are needed to better characterize underlying mechanisms, mitochondrial transplantation represents a promising strategy in the setting of IR-induced muscular damage.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Ischemia-reperfusion injury leads to severe muscular damage. Even if prompt revascularization is the treatment of choice, muscular alterations can lead to severe sequalae as mitochondrial dysfunction. Accordingly, adjunctive strategies are needed to overcome the muscular damage. Mitochondrial transplantation has shown beneficial effects in cardiac ischemia-reperfusion, but its role in peripheral muscle is not well established. In this study, we found that mitochondrial transplantation partially restored muscular function when submitted to ischemia reperfusion.