Mitochondrial Rescue After Spinal Cord Injury: Engineering Solutions for a Fragile Therapy

Abstract

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a central driver of secondary injury following spinal cord trauma, contributing to metabolic collapse, oxidative stress, and irreversible tissue loss. Emerging evidence suggests that mitochondrial transplantation, the delivery of healthy, functional mitochondria, can restore bioenergetics and improve cellular survival in injured neural tissue. However, clinical translation remains limited by the fragility of mitochondria outside the cell and the hostile, inflammatory microenvironment of the injured spinal cord.

In this talk, I will present our group’s efforts to address these challenges through engineered polymeric delivery systems that stabilize, protect, and localize transplanted mitochondria. Using thermoresponsive hyaluronic acid–based hydrogels, we demonstrate sustained mitochondrial viability, preserved oxidative phosphorylation, and enhanced respiratory capacity in rodent models of spinal cord injury. I will also highlight complementary work leveraging antioxidant polymer platforms to mitigate oxidative stress and further support mitochondrial function after transplantation.

Together, these studies illustrate how biomaterials engineering can enable organelle-based therapies, advancing mitochondrial transplantation toward realistic therapeutic strategies for spinal cord repair.

Biography

Professor of Chemical Engineering Thomas Dziubla is the Chair of the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Kentucky. He received his BS in chemical engineering from Purdue University (1998) and PhD in chemical engineering from Drexel University (2002). His research group is interested in the design of new functional polymeric biomaterials for improved biomaterial integration and wound healing. In 2019, he was inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows.  He holds 16 patents, has authored over 100 peer reviewed publications, has edited a book on Oxidative Stress and Biomaterials, and is an associate editor of the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B.  Along with Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Kentucky Zach Hilt, Dziubla is the Co-founder of Bluegrass Advanced Materials, LLC, a company that is currently developing and commercializing technologies based upon research from their laboratories.