BMI OrganBankTM is happy to report the publication of a fascinating new article in the prestigious journal Annals of Surgery – “Mitochondria Transplantation Mitigates Damage in an In Vitro Model of Renal Tubular Injury and in an Ex Vivo Model of DCD Renal Transplantation” – from a globe-spanning team of researchers led by Giuseppe Orlando (Wake Forest School of Medicine) and Benedetta Bussolati (University of Turin, Italy), which was supported by BMI OrganBank’s CaVESWave® perfusion system using DEVOL™ perfusate to create an ex vivo model of acute kidney injury.
Rossi et al. evaluated the potential therapeutic value of mitochondrial transplantation in mitigating the damage associated with acute kidney injury, a severe condition affecting a considerable number of patients worldwide. In vitro experiments revealed that the treatment of damaged human kidney cells with mitochondria led to higher cell proliferation and ATP production, the preservation of organelle polarization, and lower toxicity and reactive oxygen species production. When moving to ex vivo analyses, the authors employed the CaVESWave® perfusion system using DEVOL™ perfusate to develop a non-survival ex vivo porcine model that mimicked a donation after cardiac death (DCD) kidney transplantation scenario. In this case, mitochondrial transplantation supported kidney stability, lower levels of tissue damage, and gene expression patterns indicative of improved mitochondrial function and dampened immune responses/inflammation.
These exciting new findings, supported by BMI technology, suggest that mitochondria transplantation may represent an effective treatment for acute kidney injury in human patients in the near future.
