Stroke Mitochondria

Autologous Mitochondrial Transplant for Ischemic Stroke

Disruption of the cerebral blood flow during acute ischemic stroke disrupts oxygen and glucose delivery to cells, leading to injury of cellular organelles such as mitochondria. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been recognized as one of the major contributors to neuronal death after stroke. We are studying a treatment called mitochondrial transplant, where a patient's healthy mitochondria are injected into an artery in the brain that supplies tissue damaged from an ischemic stroke. This treatment is based on a biological process called mitochondrial transfer which occurs naturally between different brain cell types during stroke. The objective of this first-in-human-brain study is to understand if the healthy transplanted mitochondria are safely incorporated into the damaged brain cells, limit or prevent further neuronal injury, and possibly even restore function to damaged brain. This University of Washington will be the first institution to study this treatment in human stroke patients.

To learn more, please visit: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04998357

Publications:

• Walker M, Miralles FJ, Prijoles K, Kazmi JS, Hough J, Lewis D, Levitt MR, Sancak Y. Radiolabeling isolated mitochondria with Tc-99m: A first-in-field protocol and early feasibility findings. Biol Methods Protoc. 2025 Aug 9;10(1):bpaf063. doi: 10.1093/biomethods/bpaf063. PMID: 40860597; PMCID: PMC12371404.

• Miralles FJ, Prijoles KL, Winter A, Levitt MR, Sancak Y, Walker M. Periprocedural therapeutics do not impair extracellular mitochondrial viability in transplantation. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2025 May 14:271678X251340232. doi: 10.1177/0271678X251340232. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40367391; PMCID: PMC12078252.

• Walker M, Levitt MR, Federico EM, Miralles FJ, Levy SH, Lynne Prijoles K, Winter A, Swicord JK, Sancak Y. Autologous mitochondrial transplant for acute cerebral ischemia: Phase 1 trial results and review. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2024 Dec 4:271678X241305230. doi: 10.1177/0271678X241305230. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39628322; PMCID: PMC11615905.

• Bodenstein DF, Siebiger G, Zhao Y, Clasky AJ, Mukkala AN, Beroncal EL, Banh L, Aslostovar L, Brijbassi S, Hogan SE, McCully JD, Mehrabian M, Petersen TH, Robinson LA, Walker M, Zachos C; MITO2i-MbD Mitochondrial Transplant Consortium; Viswanathan S, Gu FX, Rotstein OD, Cypel M, Radisic M, Andreazza AC. Bridging the gap between in vitro and in vivo models: a way forward to clinical translation of mitochondrial transplantation in acute disease states. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2024 May 31;15(1):157. doi: 10.1186/s13287-024-03771-8. PMID: 38816774; PMCID: PMC11140916.

• Orrego MA, Levy S, Kelly C, Arroyo G, Toribio L, García HH, Walker M. Procedure for infusion of autologous mitochondria through the carotid artery in porcine brain. Rev Peru Med Exp Salud Publica. 2021 Apr-Jun;38(2):345-351. doi: 10.17843/rpmesp.2021.382.7768. Epub 2021 Aug 30. PMID: 34468586; PMCID: PMC8800344.