Nanoengineered mitochondria enable ocular mitochondrial disease therapy via the replacement of dysfunctional mitochondria

Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is an ocular mitochondrial disease that involves the impairment of mitochondrial complex I, which is an important contributor to blindness among young adults across the globe. However, the disorder has no available cures, since the approved drug idebenone for LHON in Europe relies on bypassing complex I defects rather than fixing it. Herein, PARKIN mRNA-loaded nanoparticle (mNP)-engineered mitochondria (mNP-Mito) were designed to replace dysfunctional mitochondria with the delivery of exogenous mitochondria, normalizing the function of complex I for treating LHON. The mNP-Mito facilitated the supplementation of healthy mitochondria containing functional complex I via mitochondrial transfer, along with the elimination of dysfunctional mitochondria with impaired complex I via an enhanced PARKIN-mediated mitophagy process. In a mouse model induced with a complex I inhibitor (rotenone, Rot), mNP-Mito enhanced the presence of healthy mitochondria and exhibited a sharp increase in complex I activity (76.5%) compared to the group exposed to Rot damage (29.5%), which greatly promoted the restoration of ATP generation and mitigation of ocular mitochondrial disease-related phenotypes. This study highlights the significance of nanoengineered mitochondria as a promising and feasible tool for the replacement of dysfunctional mitochondria and the repair of mitochondrial function in mitochondrial disease therapies.