Gene regulation and stem cells

Team Members: Dra. Natalia Pacienza, Dr. Diego Santa-Cruz , Bioq. Ricardo Malvicini, Lic. Cecilia Sanmartin

The Gene Regulation & Stem Cells Laboratory ("Laboratorio de Regulación Génica y Células Madre", REGECEMA) was established in January 2015 and is part of the Institute for Translational Medicine, Transplantation and Bioengineering (IMETTYB), Favaloro University–National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The goal of REGECEMA is to bridge the gap between basic science and clinical translation in regenerative medicine and experimental cell therapeutics. The laboratory's interests span from mechanisms of gene expression and epigenetic regulation to the molecular basis of pluripotency, differentiation, and regenerative potential of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). Mesenchymal stromal cells have the remarkable ability to home to injured tissues and repair them by a variety of mechanisms that include differentiation, immune modulation, suppression of inflammation, stimulation of tissue-endogenous stem/progenitor cells, and perhaps the transfer of mitochondria. Currently, we are studying the small extracellular vesicles called exosomes produced by MSCs. Exosome secretion explains many of the beneficial effects of MSCs. We are characterizing their properties and examining their therapeutic benefits in models for acute myocardial infarction, donor lung preservation, and lung transplantation.

Dr. Gustavo Yannarelli was the founder and currently serves as director of the Gene Regulation & Stem Cells Laboratory. He received his BSc in biochemistry from the University of Buenos Aires in 2000. He worked at the Biological-Chemistry Department, School of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, from 2001-2007 while earning a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Buenos Aires. He was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship from the Cell Therapy Program at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network (UHN), University of Toronto (UofT), Canada. He was supervised by Dr. Armand Keating from 2008-2011 while studied the role of MSCs in cardiac regeneration. Dr. Yannarelli returned to Argentina in 2011, after his admission into the Scientific Investigator Career at CONICET. Since 2013, he started to assemble his research group. He has authored or co‐authored more than 30 publications on international peer-reviewed journals and recently promoted to Independent Researcher at CONICET.