Fernando Antonio Fierro, Ph.D.
Associate Adjunct Professor
Locations and Contact
UC Davis Medical Center
UC Davis Medical Center
2315 Stockton Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95817
Phone: 800-2-UCDAVIS (800-282-3284)
Clinical Interests
Dr. Fierro's main research interest is stem cells, at both their basic biology and their application in the development of novel cell-based therapies. Since 2002, he has focused on human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) and their potential to repair damaged tissue, either by differentiation or as trophic mediators, modulating immune response, promoting angiogenesis, and other necessary adjacent healing functions. His current projects focus on evaluating the role of oxygen tension, growth factors and microRNAs in MSC-mediated tissue repair.
Research/Academic Interests
Dr. Fierro's research interests are on the biology of stem cells and their application for novel therapies (regenerative medicine). The main focus of my laboratory is in bone marrow-derived multipotent stromal cells/mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and their potential to repair damaged tissue either by differentiating into tissues such as bone or cartilage, or by secretion of paracrine factors that promote angiogenesis or modulate the immune system, among others. In this context, my expertise is on common laboratory techniques including cell and molecular biology, recombinant DNA technology and in vivo animal models to study cell retention, cell migration, bone formation, and critical limb ischemia (CLI). For the past years, our main emphasis has been on improving the efficacy of MSCs, by either pre-conditioning strategies or modifying genetically the cells.
Division
Cell Biology and Human Anatomy
Center/Program Affiliation
Undergraduate School
Engineer, Molecular Biology, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile 2003
Other School
Ph.D., Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany 2008
Fellowship
Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden, Germany 2008
Fellowship
UC Davis, Davis CA 2008
Carl Gustav Carus Prize to best scientific PhD thesis at Medical Faculty Technical University Dresden (TUD). Germany, 2008
Templeton K, Ramos M, Rose J, Le B, Zhou Q, Cressman A, Ferreyra S, Lebrilla CB, Fierro FA. Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Regulate Sialylations of N-Glycans, Affecting Cell Migration and Survival. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jun 26;22(13):6868. doi:10.3390/ijms22136868. PMID:34206740.
Yang HY, Fierro F, So M, Yoon DJ, Nguyen AV, Gallegos A, Bagood MD, Rojo-Castro T, Alex A, Stewart H, Chigbrow M, Dasu MR, Peavy TR, Soulika AM, Nolta JA, Isseroff RR. Combination product of dermal matrix, human mesenchymal stem cells, and timolol promotes diabetic wound healing in mice. Stem Cells Transl Med. 2020 Nov;9(11):1353-1364. doi:10.1002/sctm.19-0380. Epub 2020 Jul 28. PMID:32720751.
Alonso-Garcia V, Chaboya C, Li Q, Le B, Congleton TJ, Florez J, Tran V, Liu GY, Yao W, Lebrilla CB, Fierro FA. High Mannose N-Glycans Promote Migration of Bone-Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Sep 29;21(19):7194. doi:10.3390/ijms21197194. PMID:33003435.
Ramsay AL, Alonso-Garcia V, Chaboya C, Radut B, Le B, Florez J, Schumacher C, Fierro FA. Modeling Snyder-Robinson Syndrome in multipotent stromal cells reveals impaired mitochondrial function as a potential cause for deficient osteogenesis. Sci Rep. 2019 Oct 28;9(1):15395. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-51868-5. PMID:31659216.
Awan B, Turkov D, Schumacher C, Jacobo A, McEnerney A, Ramsey A, Xu G, Park D, Kalomoiris S, Yao W, Jao LE, Allende ML, Lebrilla CB, Fierro FA. FGF2 Induces Migration of Human Bone Marrow Stromal Cells by Increasing Core Fucosylations on N-Glycans of Integrins. Stem Cell Reports. 2018 Aug 14;11(2):325-333. doi:10.1016/j.stemcr.2018.06.007. Epub 2018 Jul 5. PMID:29983388.
Kalomoiris S, Cicchetto AC, Lakatos K, Nolta JA, Fierro FA. Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 Regulates High Mobility Group A2 Expression in Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells. J Cell Biochem. 2016 Sep;117(9):2128-37. doi:10.1002/jcb.25519. Epub 2016 Mar 8. PMID:26888666.
Beegle JR, Magner NL, Kalomoiris S, Harding A, Zhou P, Nacey C, White JL, Pepper K, Gruenloh W, Annett G, Nolta JA, Fierro FA. Preclinical evaluation of mesenchymal stem cells overexpressing VEGF to treat critical limb ischemia. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev. 2016 Aug 24;3:16053. doi:10.1038/mtm.2016.53. PMID:27610394.
Clark EA, Kalomoiris S, Nolta JA, Fierro FA. Concise review: MicroRNA function in multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells. Stem Cells. 2014 May;32(5):1074-82. doi:10.1002/stem.1623. PMID:24860868.
Kumari R, Li H, Haudenschild DR, Fierro F, Carlson CS, Overn P, Gupta L, Gupta K, Nolta J, Yik JH, Di Cesare PE. The oncogene LRF is a survival factor in chondrosarcoma and contributes to tumor malignancy and drug resistance. Carcinogenesis. 2012 Nov;33(11):2076-83. doi:10.1093/carcin/bgs254. Epub 2012 Jul 30. PMID:22847180.
Ovcharenko D, Stölzel F, Poitz D, Fierro F, Schaich M, Neubauer A, Kelnar K, Davison T, Müller-Tidow C, Thiede C, Bornhäuser M, Ehninger G, Brown D, Illmer T. miR-10a overexpression is associated with NPM1 mutations and MDM4 downregulation in intermediate-risk acute myeloid leukemia. Exp Hematol. 2011 Oct;39(10):1030-1042.e7. doi:10.1016/j.exphem.2011.07.008. Epub 2011 Jul 22. PMID:21784052.