Jorge B. Aquino He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from the National University of Mar del Plata (1996) and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden (2007). For five years, he completed his doctoral training in the laboratory of Professor Patrik Ernfors (Molecular Neurobiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry and Medical Biophysics), specializing in the developmental biology of the nervous system. Between 2008 and 2015, he was a member of the Gene Therapy Laboratory at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of this University, developing a line of research on the application of mesenchymal stem cells as a vehicle for therapeutic genes in the treatment of experimental liver cirrhosis. He has published 46 articles in various peer-reviewed international journals. He maintains collaborations with local and international research groups in the areas of developmental biology and regenerative medicine.

The Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory aims to analyze the mechanisms involved in the remodeling of various tissues and organs, and, based on this knowledge, to establish novel strategies for their repair and regeneration. The laboratory's current focus is on analyzing the differential properties and in vivo regenerative potential of a subpopulation of GLAST+ Wnt1+ stromal progenitor cells from the bone marrow, as they travel via the bloodstream to sites of injury. We are also characterizing new subpopulations of corneal progenitor cells through cell lineage tracing using double-transgenic mice and in vivo and in vitro experiments. In parallel, we are analyzing the protective and regenerative effects of specific molecules in various pathologies and the mechanisms involved. Furthermore, we will soon begin developing a research line focused on analyzing markers present in human liquid biopsies for predicting the progression of cardiovascular diseases.

• The effect of the synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide IMT504 on bone marrow GLAST+ Wnt1+ stromal progenitors and their role in liver fibrogenesis and regeneration.
• Contribution of bone marrow GLAST+ Wnt1+ stromal progenitors to heart cells after an acute myocardial infarction.
• Effect of the oligonucleotide IMT504 on GLAST+ limbal progenitor cells and on the repair of the alkali-damaged cornea.

• Borda M, Sierra R, Cantero MJ, Gómez Bustillo S, Fiore EJ, Martino-Garcet M, Rebottaro ML, Giardelli G, Bayo-Fina JM, Schiavone M, Rubione J, García MG, Montaner A, Mazzolini G, Aquino JB. The antifibrotic potential of IMT504: modulation of GLAST + Wnt1 + bone marrow stromal progenitors and hepatic microenvironment. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2024. Sep 4;15(1):278. doi:10.1186/s13287-024-03896-w.
• Aquino JB, Sierra R, Montaldo LA. Diverse cellular origins of adult blood vascular endothelial cells. Dev Biol. 2021 Sep;477:117-132.
• Sierra R, Gómez Bustillo S, Kameneva P, Fiore EJ, Mazzone GL, Borda M, Blanco MV, Usuardi C, Furlan A, Ernfors P, Alaniz L, Montaner AD, Adameyko I, Aquino JB. Contribution of neural crest and GLAST⁺ Wnt1⁺ bone marrow pericytes with liver fibrogenesis and/or regeneration. Liver Int. 2020 Apr;40(4):977-987.
• Fiore E, Malvicini M, Bayo J, Peixoto E, Atorrasagasti C, Sierra R, Rodríguez M, Gómez Bustillo S, García MG, Aquino JB*, Mazzolini G*. Involvement of hepatic macrophages in the antifibrotic effect of IGF-I-overexpressing mesenchymal stromal cells. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2016 Nov 22;7(1):172.
• Adameyko I*, Lallemend F*, Aquino JB, Pereira JA, Topilko P, Müller T, Fritz N, Beljajeva A, Mochii M, Liste I, Usoskin D, Suter U, Birchmeier C, Ernfors P. Schwann cell precursors from nerve innervation are a cellular origin of melanocytes in skin. Cell. 2009 Oct 16;139(2):366-79.
• Aquino JB, Hjerling-Leffler J, Koltzenburg M, Edlund T, Villar MJ, Ernfors P. In vitro and in vivo differentiation of boundary cap neural crest stem cells into mature Schwann cells. Exp Neurol. 2006 Apr;198(2):438-49.

Jorge B. Aquino

Position/Function: CONICET Independent Researcher, Head of Laboratory

E-Mail: jaquino@austral.edu.ar; aquinojorgeb@gmail.com

Maximo Schiavone

Position/Function: Researcher

E-Mail: maximoschiavone@gmail.com

Maximiliano Borda

Position/Function: CONICET Doctoral FellowUniversidad Austral

E-Mail: maxiborda23@gmail.com

Luis Fernando Álvarez Ordóñez

Position/Function: Doctoral Fellow, Agency

E-Mail: luisfercho97@hotmail.com

Graduates and undergraduate medical students of the Universidad Austral, and thesis students from the Biotechnology degree program at UADE.

Graduates and undergraduate students of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering of the Universidad Austral.

PIP-2022-2024, Project No. 11220210100744CO: Effect of the oligonucleotide IMT504 on limbal GLAST+ cells and on the repair of the cornea injured by alkalis.

PICT-2021-IA-00204 - Corneal Repair: Role of GLAST+ epithelial cells of the limbus and GLAST+ Wnt1+ stromal progenitor cells of the bone marrow.

Candidates are sought for a doctoral or postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory.

Address: IIMT CONICET-Austral, Av. Perón 1500, B1629AHJ, Derqui (Pilar), Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone: + 5491166924301

Contact email: jaquino@austral.edu.ar