BME Research Seminar - Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Orthopedic Soft Tissues: New Insights and Opportunities for Intervention
Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Orthopedic Soft Tissues: New Insights and Opportunities for InterventionMichelle Delco, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS Cornell University, College of Veterinary MedicineAbstractMitochondria sustain eukaryotic life and dictate cell fate. These organelles are best known as cellular “powerhouses” because they produce ATP required for tissue function and repair. Mitochondria can also act as mechanotransducers, sensing forces applied to tissue and converting those signals into biological responses, such as increased metabolic activity, senescence, and apoptosis. Chronic mitochondrial dysfunction has long been recognized in late-stage osteoarthritis. Recent work by our group and others indicates that mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the earliest responses of cartilage to overloading, resulting in chondrocyte death, cartilage degradation, and ultimately posttraumatic osteoarthritis. This talk will give an overview of several areas of ongoing research, including our investigation of mitochondrial mechanobiology, the role of mitochondrial dysfunction after cartilage injury, new mitochondria-targeted strategies to prevent diseases of orthopedic soft tissues, mitochondria-specific damage associated molecular patterns (mDAMPs) as potential biomarkers of subclinical cartilage injury and early osteoarthritis, and intracellular mitochondrial transfer from mesenchymal stem cells to injured chondrocytes. BioMichelle Delco received her BS (’98) and DVM (’02) from Cornell University, before completing a residency in Equine Surgery at the University of California, Davis and becoming a diplomate of the American College of Surgeons in 2007. She practiced equine surgery and sports medicine until returning to Cornell in 2012 to complete her PhD (’16), investigating mitochondrial dysfunction as a link between cartilage injury and posttraumatic osteoarthritis. She is currently an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, and serves as a large animal surgeon at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals in Ithaca NY, and an equine surgeon at Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists in Elmont, NY. Her research is focused on understanding the role of mitochondria in the initiation and early pathogenesis of osteoarthritis, investigating mitochondria-targeted therapies to prevent osteoarthritis and related diseases of orthopedic soft tissues, and identifying strategies to optimize mitochondrial function to improve regenerative therapies.
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