Circulation, AJP-Heart and Circulatory Physiology (AJP-Heart) and Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology (AJP-GI). PUBLICATIONS (from a total of 17) Oikonomopoulos A.#, van Deen KW., Manansala A., Lacey NP., Tomakili AT., Ziman A., Hommes DW. "Optimization of human mesenchymal stem cell manufacturing: the effects of animal/xeno-free media". Nature Scientific Reports, 2015 5; 16570. #Corresponding author. Polytarchou C.*, Oikonomopoulos A.*, Joshi S., Touroutoglou A., Koukos G., Hommes WD., Iliopoulos D. "Assessment of Circulating MicroRNAs for the Diagnosis and Disease Activity Evaluation in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis by Using the Nanostring Technology.". Inflam Bowel Dis. 2015; 21(11):2533-9. * Equal contribution. Polytarchou C., Hommes D.W.*, Palumbo T.*, Hatziapostolou M.*, Koutsioumpa M., Koukos G., van der Meulen-de Jong AE., Oikonomopoulos A., van Deen WK., Vorvis C., Serebrennikova B.O., Birli E., Choi J., Chang L., Anton PA., Tsichlis NP., Pothoulakis C., Verspaget HW., Iliopoulos D. "Therapeutically targeting miR-214 circuit in ulcerative colitis and colitis-associated colon cancer". Gastroenterology. 2015; 149(4):981-992. Koukos G., Polytarchou C., Kaplan JL., Oikonomopoulos A., Ziring D., Hommes D., Wahed R., Kokkotou E., Pothoulakis C., Winter HS., Iliopoulos D. "A MicroRNA Signature in Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis: Deregulation of the miR-4284/CXCL5 pathway in the Intestinal Epithelium". Inflam Bowel Dis. 2015; 21(5):996-1005. Law I.K., Bakirtzi K., Polytarchou C., Oikonomopoulos A., Hommes W.D., Iliopoulos D., Pothoulakis C. "Neurotensin-regulated miR-133* is involved in proinflammatory signaling in human colonic epithelial cells and in experimental colitis.", Gut. 2015; 64(7):1095-104. Oikonomopoulos A., van Deen W.K., Hommes D.W. Anti-TNF antibodies in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: do we finally know how it works? Curr Drug Targets. 2013; 14(12):1421-32. Pfister O., Lorenz V., Oikonomopoulos A., Xu L., Häuselmann SP., Mbah C., Kaufmann AB., Liao R., Wodnar-Filipowicz A., Kuster MG. "Flt3 activation improves post-myocardial infarction remodeling involving a cytoprotective effect on cardiomyocytes." Journal of American College of Cardiology (JACC). 2013; 19. Vol 63 (10). van Deen W.K., Oikonomopoulos A., Hommes D.W. Stem cell therapy in inflammatory bowel disease: which, when and how? Curr Opin Gastroenterol. 2013; 29(4):384-90. Dey D., Han L., Bauer M., Sanada F., Oikonomopoulos A., Hosoda T., Unno K., De Almeida P., Leri A., Wu JC. "Dissecting the molecular relationship among various cardiogenic progenitor cells." Circ Res. 2013; 112(9):1253-62. Sereti K.-I., Oikonomopoulos A., Unno K., Cao X., Qiu Y., Liao R. "ATP-binding cassette G-subfamily transporter 2 regulates cell cycle progression and asymmetric division in mouse cardiac side population progenitor cells." Circ Res. 2013; 112(1):27-34. Oikonomopoulos A., Sereti K.-I., Conyers F., Bauer M., Liao A., Guan J., Crapps D., Han JK., Dong H., Bayomy A.F., Fine GC., Westerman K., Biechele TL., Moon RT., Force T., Liao R. "Wnt signaling exerts an antiproliferative effect on adult cardiac progenitor cells through IGFBP3". Circ Res. 2011; 109(12):1363-74. Oikonomopoulos A., Sereti K.-I., Liao R. "Resident cardiac stem/progenitor cells for cardiac regeneration". Drug Discovery Today: Therapeutic Strategies, 2008; 5 (4), 193-199. Pfister O.*, Oikonomopoulos A.*, Sereti K.-I.*, Sohn RL., Cullen D., Fine GC., Mouquet F., Westerman K., Liao R. "Role of the ATP-binding cassette transporter Abcg2 in the phenotype and function of cardiac side population cells". Circ Res. 2008; 103:825-35. * Equal contribution. Mouquet F., Pfister O., Jain M., Oikonomopoulos A., Ngoy S., Summer R., Fine A., Liao R. "Restoration of cardiac progenitor cells after myocardial infarction by self-proliferation and selective homing of bone marrow-derived stem cells". Circ Res. 2005; 97:1080-2. MANUSCRIPTS IN PREPARATION Oikonomopoulos A.*, Polytarchou C.*, Joshi S., Hommes DW., Iliopoulos D. "Circulating microRNAs as biomarkers for the diagnosis and disease activity evaluation in Crohn's Disease patients".*Equal contribution. Oikonomopoulos A., Polytarchou C., Lacey N.P., Tomakili A.T., Hatziapostolou M., Iliopoulos D., Hommes W.D. "MicroRNA-29a/b regulates the immunosuppressive properties of human bone marrow MSC". LECTURES AND PRESENTATIONS (from a total of 11) Novel Insights on IFN-* primed MSC" 12th Annual Broad Medical Research Program Investigator Meeting, Los Angeles, USA, 4/11/2014. Stem Cell Therapy in IBD" Educational course 'Caring for your Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis Patient', UCLA Center for IBD. University of California, Los Angeles, USA, 10/6/2013. Role of Wnt signaling in regulating the function of adult cardiac progenitor cells". Brigham and Women's Hospital, Biomedical Research Institute. Work in progress research seminar- division of cardiology. Boston, USA, 1/26/2011. Role of Wnt signaling in the cell fate of cardiac progenitor cells" Research seminar between the Cardiology divisions of Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Beth Israel Hospital. Boston, USA, 1/15/2010. The role of Wnt signaling in cardiac side population cells". Summer retreat organized by the laboratories of Dr. Loscalzo J (Chairman, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School) and Dr. Ronglih Liao at Boston, USA, 02/08/2008.