ETH researchers unlock the secret to cell rejuvenation

A team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) has successfully ushered in a new era of transplantation: It has developed a method via which cell components, in this case mitochondria, can be transferred from living cells to other cells. “The host cell accepts them”, explains research director Julia Vorholt from the Institute of Microbiology at ETH Zurich in a press release issued by the university.

To achieve this, the researchers have created a special nanosyringe that can pierce the cell membrane and suck up the spherical mitochondria. The organelle is then pumped into the recipient cell using the same nanosyringe.

“Both the donor and acceptor cells survive this minimally invasive procedure”, comments Christoph Gäbelein, lead author of a specialist article on this subject, which was published in the past few days. Moreover, 80 percent of the mitochondria also survive this procedure. According to the information in the press release, the injected mitochondria begin to fuse with the filamentous network of the new cells just 20 minutes after transplantation

Mitochondria form the powerhouses of cells. They have been responsible for the biochemical processes of cellular respiration in bacteria for around two billion years. This enabled them to form communities, so-called endosymbioses, with other cells. It was in this way that fungi and complex cell communities developed as precursors to the emergence of plants and animals - and ultimately also the evolution of humans too.

Applications across various fields of research are conceivable. For example, the technique could even be used to rejuvenate stem cells. However, according to Vorholt, the team will initially focus on basic research: “We want to understand the processes that control how different cell compartments cooperate – and we hope to unravel how endosymbioses develop over evolutionary time”.