Peiwei Su, Wanyu Luo, Chao Zhu, Xudong Zhufu, Xianyi Zhang, Haoxin Wu, Rui Xu, Haijun Zhao
Mitochondria transfer has developed into an interdisciplinary field connecting cellular mechanisms, immune-inflammatory regulation, disease microenvironment remodeling, and translational therapy. Future studies should clarify its molecular regulation and context-dependent consequences, particularly in immune cells, inflammatory diseases, tumor immune evasion, and mitochondrial transplantation-based interventions.
BACKGROUND: Mitochondria transfer is an emerging mechanism of intercellular communication involved in mitochondrial homeostasis, metabolic remodeling, immune regulation, inflammatory responses, tumor progression, and mitochondrial transplantation-based therapy. However, the global research landscape and immune-inflammatory frontiers remain unclear.
METHODS: Publications on mitochondria transfer published between 1 January 2006 and 8 April 2026, were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus. After deduplication and manual screening, 851 English-language articles and reviews were analyzed using bibliometrix, CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and Pajek.
RESULTS: The 851 publications included 566 articles and 285 reviews. They received 38,879 citations and an average of 45.69 citations per publication. Annual output increased markedly after 2018 and peaked in 2025. China and the USA were the leading contributors. Journal, co-citation, and keyword analyses showed that mitochondria transfer research has expanded from mitochondrial biology, stem cell-mediated repair, and cellular metabolism toward immune regulation, inflammation, tumor microenvironment remodeling, biomaterials, and translational medicine. Major knowledge bases and emerging hotspots included tunneling nanotubes, extracellular vesicles, mitochondrial transplantation, mitochondrial quality control, metabolic homeostasis, macrophages, T cells, B cells, immune evasion, macrophage polarization, and cGAS/STING-related mechanisms.
CONCLUSION: Mitochondria transfer has developed into an interdisciplinary field connecting cellular mechanisms, immune-inflammatory regulation, disease microenvironment remodeling, and translational therapy. Future studies should clarify its molecular regulation and context-dependent consequences, particularly in immune cells, inflammatory diseases, tumor immune evasion, and mitochondrial transplantation-based interventions.