Dr. Yao's research interests focus on oxidative stress, inflammation, cellular senescence, mitochondrial dysfunction, and metabolic reprogramming in chronic lung diseases such as neonatal bronchopulmonary dysplasia, adult chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Down Syndrome, and associated pulmonary hypertension. Dr. Yao is an author of over one hundred publications in peer-reviewed journals including book chapters and reviews. He has been serving as a member of several panels of federal grant study section including the NIH and MRC. Dr. Yao is an Associate Editor of Respiratory Research, and was/is a member of the editorial boards of several international journals, such as American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark, and Physiological Reports.
| Dennery PA, Yao H. "Emerging role of cellular senescence in normal lung development and perinatal lung injury." Chinese Medical Journal Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, vol. 2, no. 1, 2024, pp. 10-16. |
| Dennery, Phyllis A, Yao, Hongwei. "Metformin Promotes Angiogenesis in Neonatal Lung Injury: A New Deal of an Old Drug." American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, 2024. |
| Teape, Daniella, Peterson, Abigail, Ahsan, Nagib, Ellis, Kimberlyn, Correia, Nicholas, Luo, Ryan, Hegarty, Katy, Yao, Hongwei, Dennery, Phyllis. "Hyperoxia impairs intraflagellar transport and causes dysregulated metabolism with resultant decreased cilia length." American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, vol. 324, no. 3, 2023, pp. L325-L334. |
| Yao, Hongwei, Wallace, Joselynn, Peterson, Abigail L., Scaffa, Alejandro, Rizal, Salu, Hegarty, Katy, Maeda, Hajime, Chang, Jason L., Oulhen, Nathalie, Kreiling, Jill A., Huntington, Kelsey E., De Paepe, Monique E., Barbosa, Guilherme, Dennery, Phyllis A. "Timing and cell specificity of senescence drives postnatal lung development and injury." Nature Communications, vol. 14, no. 1, 2023. |
| Sun X, Nakajima E, Norbrun C, Sorkhdini P, Yang AX, Yang D, Ventetuolo CE, Braza J, Vang A, Aliotta J, Banerjee D, Pereira M, Baird G, Lu Q, Harrington EO, Rounds S, Lee CG, Yao H, Choudhary G, Klinger JR, Zhou Y. "Chitinase 3 like 1 contributes to the development of pulmonary vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension." JCI insight, vol. 7, no. 18, 2022. |
| Scaffa, Alejandro, Tollefson, George A., Yao, Hongwei, Rizal, Salu, Wallace, Joselynn, Oulhen, Nathalie, Carr, Jennifer F., Hegarty, Katy, Uzun, Alper, Dennery, Phyllis A. "Identification of Heme Oxygenase-1 as a Putative DNA-Binding Protein." Antioxidants, vol. 11, no. 11, 2022, pp. 2135. |
| Maeda H, Yao H, Go H, Huntington KE, De Paepe ME, Dennery PA. "Involvement of miRNA-34a regulated Krüppel-like factor 4 expression in hyperoxia-induced senescence in lung epithelial cells." Respiratory Research, vol. 23, no. 1, 2022, pp. 340. |
| Chang JL, Gong J, Rizal S, Peterson AL, Chang J, Yao C, Dennery PA, Yao H. "Upregulating carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 attenuates hyperoxia-induced endothelial cell dysfunction and persistent lung injury." Respiratory Research, vol. 23, no. 1, 2022, pp. 205. |
| Han, Hongwei, Peng, Guangda, Meister, Maureen, Yao, Hongwei, Yang, Jenny J., Zou, Ming-Hui, Liu, Zhi-Ren, Ji, Xiangming. "Electronic Cigarette Exposure Enhances Lung Inflammatory and Fibrotic Responses in COPD Mice." Frontiers in Pharmacology, vol. 12, 2021. |
| Scaffa, Alejandro M., Peterson, Abigail L., Carr, Jennifer F., Garcia, David, Yao, Hongwei, Dennery, Phyllis A. "Hyperoxia causes senescence and increases glycolysis in cultured lung epithelial cells." Physiological Reports, vol. 9, no. 10, 2021. |
| Gillis SP, Yao H, Rizal S, Maeda H, Chang J, Dennery PA. "Loss of the transcriptional repressor Rev-erbα upregulates metabolism and proliferation in cultured mouse embryonic fibroblasts." Scientific reports, vol. 11, no. 1, 2021, pp. 12356. |
| Yue L, Lu X, Dennery PA, Yao H. "Metabolic dysregulation in bronchopulmonary dysplasia: Implications for identification of biomarkers and therapeutic approaches." Redox Biology, 2021, pp. 102104. |
| Scaffa A, Yao H, Oulhen N, Wallace J, Peterson AL, Rizal S, Ragavendran A, Wessel G, De Paepe ME, Dennery PA. "Single-cell transcriptomics reveals lasting changes in the lung cellular landscape into adulthood after neonatal hyperoxic exposure." Redox Biology, 2021, pp. 102091. |
| Gong J, Feng Z, Peterson AL, Carr JF, Lu X, Zhao H, Ji X, Zhao YY, De Paepe ME, Dennery PA, Yao H. "The pentose phosphate pathway mediates hyperoxia-induced lung vascular dysgenesis and alveolar simplification in neonates." JCI insight, vol. 6, no. 5, 2021. |
| Ji X, Yao H, Meister M, Gardenhire DS, Mo H. "Tocotrienols: Dietary Supplements for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease." Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), vol. 10, no. 6, 2021. |
| Mao, Quanfu, Chu, Sharon, Shapiro, Svetlana, Yao, Hongwei, De Paepe, Monique E. "Discordant placental oxygenation and autophagy in twin anemia-polycythemia sequence (TAPS)." Placenta, vol. 90, 2020, pp. 9-17. |
| Yue L, Vuong B, Yao H, Owens BD. "Doxycycline preserves chondrocyte viability and function in human and calf articular cartilage ex vivo." Physiological reports, vol. 8, no. 17, 2020, pp. e14571. |
| Gong J, Feng Z, Peterson AL, Carr JF, Vang A, Braza J, Choudhary G, Dennery PA, Yao H. "Endothelial to mesenchymal transition during neonatal hyperoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension." The Journal of Pathology, vol. 252, no. 4, 2020, pp. 411-422. |
| Yao H, Peterson AL, Li J, Xu H, Dennery PA. "Heme Oxygenase 1 and 2 Differentially Regulate Glucose Metabolism and Adipose Tissue Mitochondrial Respiration: Implications for Metabolic Dysregulation." International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 21, no. 19, 2020. |
| Peterson AL, Carr JF, Ji X, Dennery PA, Yao H. "Hyperoxic Exposure Caused Lung Lipid Compositional Changes in Neonatal Mice." Metabolites, vol. 10, no. 9, 2020. |
| Garcia D, Carr JF, Chan F, Peterson AL, Ellis KA, Scaffa A, Ghio AJ, Yao H, Dennery PA. "Short exposure to hyperoxia causes cultured lung epithelial cell mitochondrial dysregulation and alveolar simplification in mice." Pediatric Research, 2020. |
| Lu X, Gong J, Dennery PA, Yao H. "Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition: Pathogenesis and therapeutic targets for chronic pulmonary and vascular diseases." Biochemical pharmacology, vol. 168, 2019, pp. 100-107. |
| Qu J, Yue L, Gao J, Yao H. "Perspectives on Wnt signal pathway in the pathogenesis and therapeutics in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease." The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, 2019. |
| Yao, Hongwei, Gong, Jiannan, Peterson, Abigail L., Lu, Xuexin, Zhang, Peng, Dennery, Phyllis A. "Fatty Acid Oxidation Protects against Hyperoxia-induced Endothelial Cell Apoptosis and Lung Injury in Neonatal Mice." American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, vol. 60, no. 6, 2018, pp. 667-677. |
| Zhao H, Dennery PA, Yao H. "Metabolic reprogramming in the pathogenesis of chronic lung diseases including BPD, COPD, and pulmonary fibrosis." American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, vol. 314, no. 4, 2018, pp. L544-L554. |
| Dennery PA, Carr J, Peterson A, Yao H. "THE ROLE OF MITOCHONDRIAL FATTY ACID USE IN NEONATAL LUNG INJURY AND REPAIR." Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association, vol. 129, 2018, pp. 195-201. |
| Lu Q, Mundy M, Chambers E, Lange T, Newton J, Borgas D, Yao H, Choudhary G, Basak R, Oldham M, Rounds S. "Alda-1 Protects Against Acrolein-induced Acute Lung Injury and Endothelial Barrier Dysfunction." American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, vol. 57, no. 6, 2017, pp. 662-673. |
| Zhang Z, Cheng X, Yue L, Cui W, Zhou W, Gao J, Yao H. "Molecular Pathogenesis in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Therapeutic Potential by Targeting AMP-activated Protein Kinase." Journal of cellular physiology, 2017. |
| Ahmad T, Sundar IK, Tormos AM, Lerner CA, Gerloff J, Yao H, Rahman I. "Shelterin Telomere Protection Protein 1 Reduction Causes Telomere Attrition and Cellular Senescence via Sirtuin 1 Deacetylase in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease." American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, vol. 56, no. 1, 2017, pp. 38-49. |
| Yue L, Yao H. "Mitochondrial dysfunction in inflammatory responses and cellular senescence: pathogenesis and pharmacological targets for chronic lung diseases." Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, vol. 173, no. 15, 2016, pp. 2305-18. |
| Sundar IK, Yao H, Sellix MT, Rahman I. "Circadian clock-coupled lung cellular and molecular functions in chronic airway diseases." American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, vol. 53, no. 3, 2015, pp. 285-90. |
| Sundar IK, Yao H, Sellix MT, Rahman I. "Circadian molecular clock in lung pathophysiology." American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, vol. 309, no. 10, 2015, pp. L1056-75. |
| Yao H, Sundar IK, Huang Y, Gerloff J, Sellix MT, Sime PJ, Rahman I. "Disruption of Sirtuin 1-Mediated Control of Circadian Molecular Clock and Inflammation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease." American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, vol. 53, no. 6, 2015, pp. 782-92. |
| Guo J, Yao H, Lin X, Xu H, Dean D, Zhu Z, Liu G, Sime P. "IL-13 induces YY1 through the AKT pathway in lung fibroblasts." PLoS ONE, vol. 10, no. 3, 2015, pp. e0119039. |
| Ahmad T, Sundar IK, Lerner CA, Gerloff J, Tormos AM, Yao H, Rahman I. "Impaired mitophagy leads to cigarette smoke stress-induced cellular senescence: implications for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease." The FASEB Journal, vol. 29, no. 7, 2015, pp. 2912-29. |
| Sundar IK, Ahmad T, Yao H, Hwang JW, Gerloff J, Lawrence BP, Sellix MT, Rahman I. "Influenza A virus-dependent remodeling of pulmonary clock function in a mouse model of COPD." Scientific reports, vol. 4, 2015, pp. 9927. |
| Lerner CA, Sundar IK, Yao H, Gerloff J, Ossip DJ, McIntosh S, Robinson R, Rahman I. "Vapors produced by electronic cigarettes and e-juices with flavorings induce toxicity, oxidative stress, and inflammatory response in lung epithelial cells and in mouse lung." PLoS ONE, vol. 10, no. 2, 2015, pp. e0116732. |
| Hwang JW, Sundar IK, Yao H, Sellix MT, Rahman I. "Circadian clock function is disrupted by environmental tobacco/cigarette smoke, leading to lung inflammation and injury via a SIRT1-BMAL1 pathway." The FASEB Journal, vol. 28, no. 1, 2014, pp. 176-94. |
| Yao H, Sundar IK, Ahmad T, Lerner C, Gerloff J, Friedman AE, Phipps RP, Sime PJ, McBurney MW, Guarente L, Rahman I. "SIRT1 protects against cigarette smoke-induced lung oxidative stress via a FOXO3-dependent mechanism." American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, vol. 306, no. 9, 2014, pp. L816-28. |
| Lam HC, Cloonan SM, Bhashyam AR, Haspel JA, Singh A, Sathirapongsasuti JF, Cervo M, Yao H, Chung AL, Mizumura K, An CH, Shan B, Franks JM, Haley KJ, Owen CA, Tesfaigzi Y, Washko GR, Quackenbush J, Silverman EK, Rahman I, Kim HP, Mahmood A, Biswal SS, Ryter SW, Choi AM. "Histone deacetylase 6-mediated selective autophagy regulates COPD-associated cilia dysfunction." Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 123, no. 12, 2013, pp. 5212-30. |
| Sundar IK, Yao H, Rahman I. "Oxidative stress and chromatin remodeling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and smoking-related diseases." Antioxidants & redox signaling, vol. 18, no. 15, 2013, pp. 1956-71. |
| Yao H, Sundar IK, Gorbunova V, Rahman I. "P21-PARP-1 pathway is involved in cigarette smoke-induced lung DNA damage and cellular senescence." PLoS ONE, vol. 8, no. 11, 2013, pp. e80007. |
| Hwang JW, Yao H, Caito S, Sundar IK, Rahman I. "Redox regulation of SIRT1 in inflammation and cellular senescence." Free Radical Biology and Medicine, vol. 61, 2013, pp. 95-110. |
| Yao H, Hwang JW, Sundar IK, Friedman AE, McBurney MW, Guarente L, Gu W, Kinnula VL, Rahman I. "SIRT1 redresses the imbalance of tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 and matrix metalloproteinase-9 in the development of mouse emphysema and human COPD." American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, vol. 305, no. 9, 2013, pp. L615-24. |
| Basic VT, Tadele E, Elmabsout AA, Yao H, Rahman I, Sirsjö A, Abdel-Halim SM. "Exposure to cigarette smoke induces overexpression of von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor in mouse skeletal muscle." American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, vol. 303, no. 6, 2012, pp. L519-27. |
| Sundar IK, Chung S, Hwang JW, Lapek JD Jr, Bulger M, Friedman AE, Yao H, Davie JR, Rahman I. "Mitogen- and stress-activated kinase 1 (MSK1) regulates cigarette smoke-induced histone modifications on NF-κB-dependent genes." PLoS ONE, vol. 7, no. 2, 2012, pp. e31378. |
| Yao H, Rahman I. "Perspectives on translational and therapeutic aspects of SIRT1 in inflammaging and senescence." Biochemical pharmacology, vol. 84, no. 10, 2012, pp. 1332-9. |
| Yao H, Rahman I. "Role of histone deacetylase 2 in epigenetics and cellular senescence: implications in lung inflammaging and COPD." American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, vol. 303, no. 7, 2012, pp. L557-66. |
| Rahman I, Kinnula VL, Gorbunova V, Yao H. "SIRT1 as a therapeutic target in inflammaging of the pulmonary disease." Preventive Medicine, vol. 54 Suppl, 2012, pp. S20-8. |
| Yao H, Chung S, Hwang JW, Rajendrasozhan S, Sundar IK, Dean DA, McBurney MW, Guarente L, Gu W, Rönty M, Kinnula VL, Rahman I. "SIRT1 protects against emphysema via FOXO3-mediated reduction of premature senescence in mice." Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 122, no. 6, 2012, pp. 2032-45. |
| Yao H, Rahman I. "Current concepts on oxidative/carbonyl stress, inflammation and epigenetics in pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease." Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, vol. 254, no. 2, 2011, pp. 72-85. |
| Hwang JW, Rajendrasozhan S, Yao H, Chung S, Sundar IK, Huyck HL, Pryhuber GS, Kinnula VL, Rahman I. "FOXO3 deficiency leads to increased susceptibility to cigarette smoke-induced inflammation, airspace enlargement, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease." The Journal of Immunology, vol. 187, no. 2, 2011, pp. 987-98. |
| Sundar IK, Mullapudi N, Yao H, Spivack SD, Rahman I. "Lung cancer and its association with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: update on nexus of epigenetics." Current opinion in pulmonary medicine, vol. 17, no. 4, 2011, pp. 279-85. |
| Chung S, Sundar IK, Hwang JW, Yull FE, Blackwell TS, Kinnula VL, Bulger M, Yao H, Rahman I. "NF-κB inducing kinase, NIK mediates cigarette smoke/TNFα-induced histone acetylation and inflammation through differential activation of IKKs." PLoS ONE, vol. 6, no. 8, 2011, pp. e23488. |
| Nadtochiy SM, Yao H, McBurney MW, Gu W, Guarente L, Rahman I, Brookes PS. "SIRT1-mediated acute cardioprotection." AJP: Heart and Circulatory Physiology, vol. 301, no. 4, 2011, pp. H1506-12. |
| Rajendrasozhan S, Hwang JW, Yao H, Kishore N, Rahman I. "Anti-inflammatory effect of a selective IkappaB kinase-beta inhibitor in rat lung in response to LPS and cigarette smoke." Pulmonary pharmacology & therapeutics, vol. 23, no. 3, 2010, pp. 172-81. |
| Hwang JW, Chung S, Sundar IK, Yao H, Arunachalam G, McBurney MW, Rahman I. "Cigarette smoke-induced autophagy is regulated by SIRT1-PARP-1-dependent mechanism: implication in pathogenesis of COPD." Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, vol. 500, no. 2, 2010, pp. 203-9. |
| Arunachalam G, Sundar IK, Hwang JW, Yao H, Rahman I. "Emphysema is associated with increased inflammation in lungs of atherosclerosis-prone mice by cigarette smoke: implications in comorbidities of COPD." Journal of inflammation (London, England), vol. 7, 2010, pp. 34. |
| Yao H, Arunachalam G, Hwang JW, Chung S, Sundar IK, Kinnula VL, Crapo JD, Rahman I. "Extracellular superoxide dismutase protects against pulmonary emphysema by attenuating oxidative fragmentation of ECM." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 107, no. 35, 2010, pp. 15571-6. |
| Chung S, Sundar IK, Yao H, Ho YS, Rahman I. "Glutaredoxin 1 regulates cigarette smoke-mediated lung inflammation through differential modulation of I{kappa}B kinases in mice: impact on histone acetylation." American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, vol. 299, no. 2, 2010, pp. L192-203. |
| Adenuga D, Caito S, Yao H, Sundar IK, Hwang JW, Chung S, Rahman I. "Nrf2 deficiency influences susceptibility to steroid resistance via HDAC2 reduction." Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, vol. 403, no. 3-4, 2010, pp. 452-6. |
| Sundar IK, Caito S, Yao H, Rahman I. "Oxidative stress, thiol redox signaling methods in epigenetics." Methods in enzymology, vol. 474, 2010, pp. 213-44. |
| Caito S, Hwang JW, Chung S, Yao H, Sundar IK, Rahman I. "PARP-1 inhibition does not restore oxidant-mediated reduction in SIRT1 activity." Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, vol. 392, no. 3, 2010, pp. 264-70. |
| Sundar IK, Chung S, Hwang JW, Arunachalam G, Cook S, Yao H, Mazur W, Kinnula VL, Fisher AB, Rahman I. "Peroxiredoxin 6 differentially regulates acute and chronic cigarette smoke–mediated lung inflammatory response and injury." Experimental lung research, vol. 36, no. 8, 2010, pp. 451-62. |
| Yao H, Hwang JW, Moscat J, Diaz-Meco MT, Leitges M, Kishore N, Li X, Rahman I. "Protein kinase C zeta mediates cigarette smoke/aldehyde- and lipopolysaccharide-induced lung inflammation and histone modifications." Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 285, no. 8, 2010, pp. 5405-16. |
| Chung S, Yao H, Caito S, Hwang JW, Arunachalam G, Rahman I. "Regulation of SIRT1 in cellular functions: role of polyphenols." Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, vol. 501, no. 1, 2010, pp. 79-90. |
| Caito S, Rajendrasozhan S, Cook S, Chung S, Yao H, Friedman AE, Brookes PS, Rahman I. "SIRT1 is a redox-sensitive deacetylase that is post-translationally modified by oxidants and carbonyl stress." The FASEB Journal, vol. 24, no. 9, 2010, pp. 3145-59. |
| Arunachalam G, Yao H, Sundar IK, Caito S, Rahman I. "SIRT1 regulates oxidant- and cigarette smoke-induced eNOS acetylation in endothelial cells: Role of resveratrol." Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, vol. 393, no. 1, 2010, pp. 66-72. |
| Rajendrasozhan S, Chung S, Sundar IK, Yao H, Rahman I. "Targeted disruption of NF-{kappa}B1 (p50) augments cigarette smoke-induced lung inflammation and emphysema in mice: a critical role of p50 in chromatin remodeling." American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, vol. 298, no. 2, 2010, pp. L197-209. |
| Yao H, Rahman I. "Current concepts on the role of inflammation in COPD and lung cancer." Current opinion in pharmacology, vol. 9, no. 4, 2009, pp. 375-83. |
| Rajendrasozhan S, Yao H, Rahman I. "Current perspectives on role of chromatin modifications and deacetylases in lung inflammation in COPD." COPD, vol. 6, no. 4, 2009, pp. 291-7. |
| Adenuga D, Yao H, March TH, Seagrave J, Rahman I. "Histone deacetylase 2 is phosphorylated, ubiquitinated, and degraded by cigarette smoke." American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, vol. 40, no. 4, 2009, pp. 464-73. |
| Yang SR, Yao H, Rajendrasozhan S, Chung S, Edirisinghe I, Valvo S, Fromm G, McCabe MJ Jr, Sime PJ, Phipps RP, Li JD, Bulger M, Rahman I. "RelB is differentially regulated by IkappaB Kinase-alpha in B cells and mouse lung by cigarette smoke." American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, vol. 40, no. 2, 2009, pp. 147-58. |
| Yao H, Edirisinghe I, Rajendrasozhan S, Yang SR, Caito S, Adenuga D, Rahman I. "Cigarette smoke-mediated inflammatory and oxidative responses are strain-dependent in mice." American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, vol. 294, no. 6, 2008, pp. L1174-86. |
| Rajendrasozhan S, Yang SR, Edirisinghe I, Yao H, Adenuga D, Rahman I. "Deacetylases and NF-kappaB in redox regulation of cigarette smoke-induced lung inflammation: epigenetics in pathogenesis of COPD." Antioxidants & redox signaling, vol. 10, no. 4, 2008, pp. 799-811. |
| Yao H, Yang SR, Edirisinghe I, Rajendrasozhan S, Caito S, Adenuga D, O'Reilly MA, Rahman I. "Disruption of p21 attenuates lung inflammation induced by cigarette smoke, LPS, and fMLP in mice." American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, vol. 39, no. 1, 2008, pp. 7-18. |
| Yao H, Edirisinghe I, Yang SR, Rajendrasozhan S, Kode A, Caito S, Adenuga D, Rahman I. "Genetic ablation of NADPH oxidase enhances susceptibility to cigarette smoke-induced lung inflammation and emphysema in mice." The American Journal of Pathology, vol. 172, no. 5, 2008, pp. 1222-37. |
| Yang SR, Valvo S, Yao H, Kode A, Rajendrasozhan S, Edirisinghe I, Caito S, Adenuga D, Henry R, Fromm G, Maggirwar S, Li JD, Bulger M, Rahman I. "IKK alpha causes chromatin modification on pro-inflammatory genes by cigarette smoke in mouse lung." American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, vol. 38, no. 6, 2008, pp. 689-98. |
| Yao H, de Boer WI, Rahman I. "Targeting lung inflammation: novel therapies for the treatment of COPD." Current respiratory medicine reviews, vol. 4, no. 1, 2008, pp. 57-68. |
| Edirisinghe I, Yang SR, Yao H, Rajendrasozhan S, Caito S, Adenuga D, Wong C, Rahman A, Phipps RP, Jin ZG, Rahman I. "VEGFR-2 inhibition augments cigarette smoke-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory responses leading to endothelial dysfunction." The FASEB Journal, vol. 22, no. 7, 2008, pp. 2297-310. |
| Yue L, Shen YX, Feng LJ, Chen FH, Yao HW, Liu LH, Wu Q, Wang H. "Blockage of the formation of new blood vessels by recombinant human endostatin contributes to the regression of rat adjuvant arthritis." European journal of pharmacology, vol. 567, no. 1-2, 2007, pp. 166-70. |
| de Boer WI, Yao H, Rahman I. "Future therapeutic treatment of COPD: struggle between oxidants and cytokines." International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, vol. 2, no. 3, 2007, pp. 205-28. |
I have developed research interests in studying the pathogenic mechanisms and potential pharmacological therapy for chronic lung diseases in adults and premature infants, including pulmonary fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), and associated pulmonary hypertension. We employed a variety of approaches, including gene knockout/transgenic mice, pharmacological inhibitors/activators, Seahorse Analyzer, scRNA-seq, metabolomics analysis, and metabolic flux assay in vitro in cells, in vivo in rodent models, and ex vivo in human samples.
My initial publications addressed the role of Ying Yang 1, PI3K/Akt, TRPM7, and angiotensin receptor in collagen synthesis during the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Among them, we revealed that losartan treatment protects against bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats. Our work lays a strong foundation for the clinical trial of losartan in halting fibrogenesis in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Pulmonary fibrosis also occurs in patients with COPD. We identified several molecules, including NADPH oxidase, extracellular superoxide dismutase (ECSOD), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), NQO-1, PKCζ, and sirtuin1 (Sirt1) that regulate cigarette smoke-induced lung oxidative and inflammatory responses. Cigarette smoke-induced mouse emphysema is attenuated by overexpression of ECSOD and Sirt1 as well as their mimetics and activators. Lung function decline is accelerated in COPD patients with aging. This may be due to augmentation of cigarette smoke-induced lung cellular senescence. As the first or corresponding author, I have published that lung epithelial cellular senescence and senescence-associated secretory phenotype are increased in mice with emphysema and in patients with COPD. The mechanisms underlying these findings are attributed to cigarette smoke-mediated the reduction of histone deacetylase Sirt1 and transcription factor FOXO3, leading to increased expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21CIP1 and p16Ink. These findings support a potential conceptual shift regarding how the lung is damaged by persistent exposure to cigarette smoke and offer a novel paradigm on the pathogenesis and progression of alveolar destruction in COPD. We also discovered that cigarette smoke exposure impairs mitophagy and mitochondrial function, which contributes to lung cellular senescence. These findings provide the rationale for developing the therapeutic avenue for COPD via suppression or clearance of senescent cells.
Accumulating evidence from longitudinal studies shows that childhood events and exposures can accelerate the rate of decline in lung function. Some survivors of premature infants with BPD show evidence of COPD, lung fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension in adolescence and adulthood. Thus, my current research interests focuses on dysregulated metabolism and senescence underlying the pathogenesis of BPD. We have demonstrated that hyperoxic exposure, a known inducer of BPD in rodent models, causes reduction of fatty acid oxidation in lung endothelial cells, leading to apoptosis as well as subsequent alveolar and vascular simplification in neonatal mice. As a long-term commitment, my laboratory is to identify carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a as a novel therapeutic target for prevent hyperoxic lung injury. My laboratory also focuses on whether and how neonatal hyperoxic exposure results in long-term complications, such as pulmonary hypertension, in adulthood.
NHLBI 1R01HL166327-01A1 Yao (PI) 07/01/2023-04/30/2027
Title: Metabolic mechanisms underlying bronchopulmonary dysplasia-associated pulmonary hypertension
CPVB COBRE pilot project Yao (PI) 1/17/2024-05/31/2024
Senescence as a Novel Mechanism of Lung Vascular Anomaly in Down Syndrome
Rhode Island Foundation grant (#: 14699_20231340) (PI: Yao) 04/01/2023-03/30/2024
Upregulating Cpt1a inhibits hyperoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension by decreasing EndoMT
Fall 2023 Brown Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards (UTRA) (Ivy Lin) 9/15/2023-12/20/2023
Fatty acid synthesis during postnatal lung development and injury
Role: Mentor
Fall 2023 Brown UTRA Award (Bailey Merlino) 9/15/2023-12/20/2023
Role of fatty acid oxidation in neonatal hyperoxia-induced EndoMT
Role: Mentor
Fall 2023 Brown UTRA Award (Natali Chung) 9/15/2023-12/20/2023
Mitophagy in neonatal hyperoxia-induced lung injury
Role: Mentor
NIH/ NIGMS P20GM103652 (MPI: G. Choudhary, E. Harrington; Project 1 PI: Yao) 7/20/2018-5/31/2023
“Endothelial Injury and Repair: CardioPulmonary Vascular Biology COBRE”
Project 1 Title: “Metabolic mechanisms of impaired vascularization during hyperoxic lung injury”
Spring 2023 Brown UTRA Award (Jared Hunter) 1/26/2023-5/10/2023
Title: Mitochondrial damage in hyperoxia-induced impairment of angiogenesis
Role: Mentor
Spring 2023 Brown UTRA Award (Joseph Suh) 1/26/2023-5/10/2023
Title: Fatty acid synthesis during postnatal lung development and injury
Role: Mentor
Spring 2022 Brown UTRA Award (Jason Chang) 1/26/2022-5/10/2022
Title: Upregulating Cpt1a Attenuates Hyperoxia-Induced Persistent Lung Injury
Role: Mentor
Falk Medical Research Trust Catalyst Award Yao (PI) 11/30/2019 – 8/30/2021
Dr. Ralph and Marian Falk Medical Research Trust
Identification of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a as a novel target for bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Spring 2021 Brown UTRA Award (Julia Chang) 1/20/2021-4/10/2021
Title: Enhancing carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a protects against hyperoxia-induced lung endothelial cell dysfunction in vitro
Role: Mentor
Summer 2018 Brown UTRA Award (Zihang Feng) 6/4/2018-8/10/2018
Title: Role of glycolysis in hyperoxia-induced lung endothelial cell dysfunction
Role: Mentor
NIGMS/NIH CPVB COBRE pilot project, Yao (PI) 06/2016-05/2017
Title: Metabolic Dysregulation in Pulmonary Endothelial Dysfunction During Hyperoxic Lung Injury
American Lung Association Biomedical Grant RG-266456-N, Yao (PI) 07/2013-06//2015
Title: SIRT1 regulation in telomere attrition in lung cellular senescence
| Year | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | PhD | Anhui Medical University (安徽医科大学) |
| 2000 | MMSc | Anhui Medical University (安徽医科大学) |
| 1997 | BMS | Anhui Medical University (安徽医科大学) |
2003: Excellent Paper Award in the Natural Science of Anhui Province in China.
2004: Servier Young Investigator Award in Pharmacology between the Chinese Pharmacological Society and the Institut de Recherches Internationales Servier (France).
2008: Provincial Natural Science and Technology Progress Award (third class) from the Department of Science and Technology of Anhui Province in China.
2010: Traveling award for the 8th European Respiratory Society (ERS) Lung Science Conference in Estoril, Portugal.
2011: Best publication Robert N. Infurna award in the Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center.
2014: Poster award in the Pittsburgh-Munich International Lung Conference, Pittsburgh, PA.
2022: Whitsett award of Neonatal and Developing Lung/ATS program
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Choudhary, Gaurav | Ruth and Paul Levinger Professor of Cardiology |
| De Paepe, Monique | Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine |
| Dennery, Phyllis | Sylvia Kay Hassenfeld Professor of Pediatrics, Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Chair of Pediatrics |
| Lu, Qing | Associate Professor of Medicine |
| Owens, Brett | Professor of Orthopaedics, Professor of Epidemiology |
| Zhang, Peng | Assistant Professor of Medicine |
2003-2006: Instructor, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China
2006-2010: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Rochester Medical Center
2010-2015: Assistant Professor (Research), University of Rochester Medical Center
2016-2024: Associate Professor (Research), Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Biochemistry, Brown University
2024-: Professor (Research), Department of Medicine, Brown University
2024-: Professor (Research), Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Biochemistry, Brown University
