Mitochondria Transfer Research Expands from Cellular Mechanisms to Immune-Inflammatory Frontiers
A bibliometric analysis of publications on mitochondria transfer reveals a shift toward immune regulation and translational medicine, with China and the USA leading contributions.
Mitochondria transfer represents an emerging mechanism of intercellular communication that influences mitochondrial homeostasis, metabolic remodeling, immune regulation, inflammatory responses, tumor progression, and transplantation-based therapy. Understanding this process is critical for advancing research in metabolic pathways and immunological interventions within laboratory settings.
Researchers conducted a bibliometric analysis to map the global research landscape on mitochondria transfer. Publications were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus between 1 January 2006 and 8 April 2026. After deduplication and manual screening, 851 English-language articles and reviews were analyzed using bibliometrix, CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and Pajek.
The analysis identified 566 articles and 285 reviews that received 38,879 citations, with 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 to this field. 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. This indicates a significant shift in research focus toward clinical applications.
The authors conclude that 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. This research is intended for laboratory use only and does not constitute medical advice.