By Dr Osvaldo Contreras

Journal articles

Thorpe J; Perry MD; Contreras O; Hurley E; Parker G; Harvey RP; Hill AP; Vandenberg JI, 2026, 'Correction: Development of a robust induced pluripotent stem cell atrial cardiomyocyte differentiation protocol to model atrial arrhythmia (Stem Cell Research & Therapy, (2023), 14, 1, (183), 10.1186/s13287-023-03405-5)', Stem Cell Research and Therapy, 17, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13287-026-04942-5

Wolhuter K; Ma L; Bryce NS; Contreras O; Mellett N; Zhong L; Thekkedam C; Iismaa SE; Giles C; Harvey RP; Hennessy T; Fouracre C; Bradley D; Meikle PJ; Björkegren JLM; Kovacic JC, 2026, 'Multi-omic analysis of human PHACTR1 signaling networks', Communications Biology, 9, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-09542-w

Thekkedam C; Humphreys DT; Naval-Sanchez M; Nicks AM; Harvey RP; Contreras O, 2026, 'A Scalable MNase-seq Framework for Reproducible Nucleosome Profiling across Pluripotent Stem Cell and Cardiomyocyte Models', Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, 35, pp. 0204, http://dx.doi.org/10.34133/csbj.0204

Thorpe J; Contreras O; Romanov V; Parker G; Cook L; Saha S; Ramalingam J; Thekkedam C; Harvey RP; Vandenberg JI; Hill AP, 2026, 'Investigating inflammation induced new onset atrial fibrillation in 2D and 3D stem cell models', Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology Plus, 15, pp. 100626 - 100626, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmccpl.2025.100626

Fatkin D; Santiago C; Contreras O; Chand R; Cvetkovska J; Trivedi G; Thekkedam C; Palipana D; Huttner I; Harvey R, 2025, 'Regular swim exercise improves cardiac function in a zebrafish model of TTNtv-related dilated cardiomyopathy', European Heart Journal, 46, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf784.4770

Contreras O; Thekkedam C; Zaunders J; Aguirre-MacLennan I; Murray NJ; Gonzalez-Cordero A; Harvey RP, 2025, 'OpenEMMU: A versatile, open-source EdU multiplexing methodology for studying DNA replication and cell cycle dynamics', Iscience, 28, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113380

McKinna E; Ford D; Tallapragada V; Hume R; Reyes L; Janbandhu V; Kim S; Marcus A; Contreras O; Kizana E; Payne R; Harvey R; Chong J, 2025, 'Mimetic Peptides of Platelet Derived Growth Factor-AB for Treatment of Myocardial Infarction', Heart Lung and Circulation, 34, pp. s620 - s621, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hlc.2025.06.830

Patrick R; Janbandhu V; Tallapragada V; Tan SSM; McKinna EE; Contreras O; Ghazanfar S; Humphreys DT; Murray NJ; Tran YTH; Hume RD; Chong JJH; Harvey RP, 2024, 'Integration mapping of cardiac fibroblast single-cell transcriptomes elucidates cellular principles of fibrosis in diverse pathologies', Science Advances, 10, http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adk8501

Filipe EC; Velayuthar S; Philp A; Nobis M; Latham SL; Parker AL; Murphy KJ; Wyllie K; Major GS; Contreras O; Mok ETY; Enriquez RF; McGowan S; Feher K; Quek LE; Hancock SE; Yam M; Tran E; Setargew YFI; Skhinas JN; Chitty JL; Phimmachanh M; Han JZR; Cadell AL; Papanicolaou M; Mahmodi H; Kiedik B; Junankar S; Ross SE; Lam N; Coulson R; Yang J; Zaratzian A; Da Silva AM; Tayao M; Chin IL; Cazet A; Kansara M; Segara D; Parker A; Hoy AJ; Harvey RP; Bogdanovic O; Timpson P; Croucher DR; Lim E; Swarbrick A; Holst J; Turner N; Choi YS; Kabakova IV; Philp A; Cox TR, 2024, 'Tumor Biomechanics Alters Metastatic Dissemination of Triple Negative Breast Cancer via Rewiring Fatty Acid Metabolism', Advanced Science, 11, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/advs.202307963

Flores-Opazo M; Kopinke D; Helmbacher F; Fernández-Verdejo R; Tuñón-Suárez M; Lynch GS; Contreras O, 2024, 'Fibro-adipogenic progenitors in physiological adipogenesis and intermuscular adipose tissue remodeling', Molecular Aspects of Medicine, 97, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mam.2024.101277

Thorpe J; Perry MD; Contreras O; Hurley E; Parker G; Harvey RP; Hill AP; Vandenberg JI, 2023, 'Development of a robust induced pluripotent stem cell atrial cardiomyocyte differentiation protocol to model atrial arrhythmia', Stem Cell Research and Therapy, 14, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13287-023-03405-5

Contreras O; Harvey RP, 2023, 'Single-cell transcriptome dynamics of the autotaxin-lysophosphatidic acid axis during muscle regeneration reveal proliferative effects in mesenchymal fibro-adipogenic progenitors', Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 11, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2023.1017660

Harvey RP; Patrick R; Janbandhu V; Contreras O, 2022, 'Cardiac fibroblast heterogeneity and dynamics through the lens of single-cell dual 'omics', Cardiovascular Research, 118, pp. 1380 - 1382, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac037

Janbandhu V; Tallapragada V; Patrick R; Li Y; Abeygunawardena D; Humphreys DT; Martin EMMA; Ward AO; Contreras O; Farbehi N; Yao E; Du J; Dunwoodie SL; Bursac N; Harvey RP, 2022, 'Hif-1a suppresses ROS-induced proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts following myocardial infarction', Cell Stem Cell, 29, pp. 281 - 297.e12, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2021.10.009

, 2022, 'The Global IUBMB Trainee Initiative', Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 47, pp. 549 - 551, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tibs.2022.04.002

Contreras O; Rossi FMV; Theret M, 2021, 'Origins, potency, and heterogeneity of skeletal muscle fibro-adipogenic progenitors—time for new definitions', Skeletal Muscle, 11, pp. 16, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13395-021-00265-6

Theret M; Low M; Rempel L; Li FF; Tung LW; Contreras O; Chang CK; Wu A; Soliman H; Rossi FMV, 2021, 'In vitro assessment of anti-fibrotic drug activity does not predict in vivo efficacy in murine models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy', Life Sciences, 279, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2021.119482

Contreras O; Córdova-Casanova A; Brandan E, 2021, 'PDGF-PDGFR network differentially regulates the fate, migration, proliferation, and cell cycle progression of myogenic cells', Cellular Signalling, 84, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cellsig.2021.110036

Theret M; Rossi FMV; Contreras O, 2021, 'Evolving Roles of Muscle-Resident Fibro-Adipogenic Progenitors in Health, Regeneration, Neuromuscular Disorders, and Aging', Frontiers in Physiology, 12, pp. 673404, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.673404

Contreras O; Soliman H; Theret M; Rossi FMV; Brandan E, 2020, 'TGF-β-driven downregulation of the transcription factor TCF7L2 affects Wnt/β-catenin signaling in PDGFRα+ fibroblasts', Journal of Cell Science, 133, http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jcs.242297

Riquelme-Guzmán C; Contreras O, 2020, 'Single-cell revolution unveils the mysteries of the regenerative mammalian digit tip', Developmental Biology, 461, pp. 107 - 109, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2020.02.002

Contreras O, 2020, 'Hic1 deletion unleashes quiescent connective tissue stem cells and impairs skeletal muscle regeneration', Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling, 14, pp. 131 - 133, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12079-019-00545-3

Contreras O; Cruz-Soca M; Theret M; Soliman H; Tung LW; Groppa E; Rossi FM; Brandan E, 2019, 'Cross-talk between TGF-β and PDGFRα signaling pathways regulates the fate of stromal fibro-adipogenic progenitors', Journal of Cell Science, 132, http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jcs.232157

Contreras O, 2019, 'First person – Osvaldo Contreras', Journal of Cell Science, 132, http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/JCS.238485

Rebolledo DL; González D; Faundez-Contreras J; Contreras O; Vio CP; Murphy-Ullrich JE; Lipson KE; Brandan E, 2019, 'Denervation-induced skeletal muscle fibrosis is mediated by CTGF/CCN2 independently of TGF-β', Matrix Biology, 82, pp. 20 - 37, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matbio.2019.01.002

Contreras O; Rossi FM; Brandan E, 2019, 'Adherent muscle connective tissue fibroblasts are phenotypically and biochemically equivalent to stromal fibro/adipogenic progenitors', Matrix Biology Plus, 2, pp. 100006, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mbplus.2019.04.003

Riquelme-Guzmán C; Contreras O; Brandan E, 2018, 'Expression of CTGF/CCN2 in response to LPA is stimulated by fibrotic extracellular matrix via the integrin/FAK axis', American Journal of Physiology Cell Physiology, 314, pp. C415 - C427, http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.00013.2017

Contreras O; Villarreal M; Brandan E, 2018, 'Nilotinib impairs skeletal myogenesis by increasing myoblast proliferation', Skeletal Muscle, 8, pp. 5, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13395-018-0150-5

Gonzalez D; Contreras O; Rebolledo DL; Espinoza JP; Van Zundert B; Brandan E, 2017, 'ALS skeletal muscle shows enhanced TGF-β signaling, fibrosis and induction of fibro/adipogenic progenitor markers', Plos One, 12, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177649

Contreras O; Brandan E, 2017, 'Fibro/adipogenic progenitors safeguard themselves: a novel mechanism to reduce fibrosis is discovered', Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling, 11, pp. 77 - 78, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12079-016-0372-4

Contreras O; Rebolledo DL; Oyarzún JE; Olguín HC; Brandan E, 2016, 'Connective tissue cells expressing fibro/adipogenic progenitor markers increase under chronic damage: relevance in fibroblast-myofibroblast differentiation and skeletal muscle fibrosis', Cell and Tissue Research, 364, pp. 647 - 660, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00441-015-2343-0

Gutiérrez J; Droppelmann CA; Contreras O; Takahashi C; Brandan E, 2015, 'RECK-mediated β1-integrin regulation by TGF-β1 is critical for wound contraction in mice', Plos One, 10, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0135005

Cofre C; José Acuña M; Contreras O; Gabriela Morales M; Riquelme C; Bader M; Santos R; Cabello-Verrugio C; Brandan E, 2015, 'Erratum for: Transforming growth factor type-β inhibits Mas receptor expression in fibroblasts but not in myoblasts or differentiated myotubes; Relevance to fibrosis associated to muscular dystrophies [BioFactors, 2015 March/April; 42(2); 111-120, doi: 10.1002/biof.1208]', Biofactors, 41, pp. 209 - 209, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/biof.1220

Cofre C; Acuña MJ; Contreras O; Morales MG; Riquelme C; Cabello-Verrugio C; Brandan E, 2015, 'Transforming growth factor type-β inhibits Mas receptor expression in fibroblasts but not in myoblasts or differentiated myotubes; Relevance to fibrosis associated to muscular dystrophies', Biofactors, 41, pp. 111 - 120, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/biof.1208

Escobedo N; Contreras O; Muñoz R; Farías M; Carrasco H; Hill C; Tran U; Pryor SE; Wessely O; Copp AJ; Larraín J, 2013, 'Syndecan 4 interacts genetically with Vangl2 to regulate neural tube closure and planar cell polarity', Development Cambridge, 140, pp. 3008 - 3017, http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/dev.091173

Escobedo N; Farias M; Carrasco H; Contreras O; Tran U; Wessely O; Copp A; Larrain J, 2011, 'Role of Syndecan-4 in mouse development', Developmental Biology, 356, pp. 176 - 177, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2011.05.654

Conference Papers

Contreras O; Thekkedam C; Zaunders J; Aguirre-MacLennan I; Murray NJ; Gonzalez-Cordero A; Harvey RP, 2025, 'OpenEMMU: a versatile and open-source EdU multiplexing methodology for quantifying DNA replication and cell cycle dynamics', in OpenEMMU: a versatile and open-source EdU multiplexing methodology for quantifying DNA replication and cell cycle dynamics, ScienceOpen, presented at 13th Asia Pacific Microscopy Congress 2025, http://dx.doi.org/10.14293/apmc13-2025-0341

Preprints

Thekkedam C; Humphreys D; Naval-Sanchez M; Nicks A; Harvey R; Contreras O, 2026, A scalable MNase-seq framework for reproducible nucleosome profiling across pluripotent stem cell and cardiomyocyte models, http://dx.doi.org/10.64898/2026.06.08.731013

Thorpe J; Perry MD; Contreras O; Hurley E; Parker G; Harvey RP; Hill AP; Vandenberg JI, Development of a robust induced pluripotent stem cell atrial cardiomyocyte differentiation protocol to model atrial arrhythmia, http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2744099/v1

Contreras O; Thekkedam C; Zaunders J; Aguirre-MacLennan I; Murray NJ; Gonzalez-Cordero A; Harvey RP, OpenEMMU: a versatile, open-source EdU multiplexing methodology for studying DNA replication and cell cycle dynamics, http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.17.633495

Contreras O; Smith GD; Santiago C; Dey M; Thekkedam C; Chand R; González-Rajal Á; Zhong L; Lock JG; Wong E; Fatkin D; Harvey RP, Proteo-transcriptomics and morphometrics of teleost cardiac cells define regulatory networks and exercise-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia, http://dx.doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.11.698907

Contreras O; Harvey RP, Single-Cell Transcriptome Dynamics of the Autotaxin-Lysophosphatidic Acid Axis During Muscle Regeneration Reveal Proliferative Effects in Mesenchymal Fibro-Adipogenic Progenitors, http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.02.498539

Hancock SE; Garthwaite L; Harellis K; Susetio M; Ding E; Choong L; Contreras O; Nguyen A; Lising J; Hansen FK; Wongsomboon P; Menzel JP; Poad BL; Mitchell TW; Blanksby SJ; Turner N, Targeting de novo lipogenesis improves gemcitabine efficacy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.18.628624

Theret M; Low M; Rempel L; Li FF; Tung LW; Contreras O; Chang C-K; Wu A; Soliman H; Rossi FMV, Targeting fibrosis in the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy mice model: an uphill battle, http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.20.427485

Contreras O; Soliman H; Theret M; Rossi FMV; Brandan E, TGF-β-driven downregulation of the Wnt/β-Catenin transcription factor TCF7L2/TCF4 in PDGFRα+ fibroblasts, http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.05.895334

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