[1] Scientists have hypothesized for the last couple of decades that protofection can be beneficial for patients with mitochondrial diseases.
As mitochondrial DNA becomes progressively more damaged with age, this may provide a method of at least partially rejuvenating mitochondria in old tissue, restoring them to their original, youthful function.
Each of these play a specific role in protofection: This process can lead to an increase in the amount of mtDNA present in the mitochondria of the target cells.
Protofection is being researched as a possibly viable laboratory technique for constructing gene therapies for inherited mitochondrial diseases, such as Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy.
Studies have shown that protofection can lead to improved mitochondrial function in targeted cells.