Erodible thermogelling hydrogels for localized mitochondrial transplantation to the spinal cord.

We developed a thermal-gelling, erodible hydrogel system for localized delivery of viable mitochondria in vivo, as well as labeled transplanted mitochondria with specific dyes and/or genetically modified mitochondria tagged with red fluorescence protein (RFP). We also employed cell lines to optimize a hydrogel composed of methylcellulose and hyaluronic acid designed to preserve bioenergetics while facilitating mitochondrial release. We further investigated how transplantation of allogeneic or xenogeneic mitochondria into respective cell lines affects host cellular metabolism, as measured by MTS assay.