Mitoprotective therapy prevents rapid, strain-dependent mitochondrial dysfunction after articular cartilage injury

Bartell LR, Fortier LA, Bonassar LJ, Szeto HH, Cohen I, Delco ML · Journal of Orthopaedic Research

Impact triggered mitochondrial depolarization within minutes, tightly correlated with local tissue strain (R = 0.68); SS-31 pretreatment kept depolarization and cell death 63-91% lower than untreated impacted cartilage — comparable to unimpacted controls — abolished the strain-depolarization correlation, and preserved cristae structure on electron microscopy.

Population

Neonatal bovine cartilage explants tracked cell-by-cell after impact

Intervention

SS-31 treatment before rapid impact injury

Comparator

Impacted untreated and unimpacted explants

Limitations

Drug was present before injury — a design no clinical scenario can copy; neonatal bovine explants; Szeto is a co-author.