Information

Related Research Units

Respiratory Diseases Research
Ke Yuan Lab Research

Research Overview

The Ke Yuan lab will dissect the critical role of pericytes during angiogenesis and aim to understand abnormal vascular remodeling in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and other pulmonary vascular diseases. The ultimate goal is to identify potential therapeutic targets that could be exploited for the development of new drugs capable of preventing abnormal vessel remodeling and obliteration in PAH.

Research Background

Ke received her PhD in Biology from Temple University, PA, and was then a postdoctoral fellow at the Division of Pulmonary Critical Care Medicine at Stanford University when she joined the faculty. Ke has been recognized nationally as a Parker B Francis Fellow, a fellow of American Heart Association (AHA) and a recipient of AHA Scientist Development Grant, Cournand and Comroe Young Investigator Award.

Selected Publications

  1. Yuan K, Shamskhou EA, Orcholski ME, Nathan A, Reddy S, Honda H, Mani V, Zeng Y, Ozen MO, Wang L, Demirci U, Tian W, Nicolls MR, de Jesus Perez VA. Loss of Endothelium-Derived Wnt5a Is Associated With Reduced Pericyte Recruitment and Small Vessel Loss in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Circulation. 2019;139(14):1710-24. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.037642. PubMed PMID: 30586764; PMCID: PMC6443444.
  2. Yuan K, Shao NY, Hennigs JK, Discipulo M, Orcholski ME, Shamskhou E, Richter A, Hu X, Wu JC, de Jesus Perez VA. Increased Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 4 Expression in Lung Pericytes Is Associated with Reduced Endothelial-Pericyte Interactions and Small Vessel Loss in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Am J Pathol. 2016;186(9):2500-14. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2016.05.016. PubMed PMID: 27456128; PMCID: PMC5012507.
  3. Yuan K, Orcholski ME, Panaroni C, Shuffle EM, Huang NF, Jiang X, Tian W, Vladar EK, Wang L, Nicolls MR, Wu JY, de Jesus Perez VA. Activation of the Wnt/planar cell polarity pathway is required for pericyte recruitment during pulmonary angiogenesis. Am J Pathol. 2015;185(1):69-84. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2014.09.013. PubMed PMID: 25447046; PMCID: PMC4278244.
  4. de Jesus Perez VA*, Yuan K*, Lyuksyutova MA, Dewey F, Orcholski ME, Shuffle EM, Mathur M, Yancy L, Jr., Rojas V, Li CG, Cao A, Alastalo TP, Khazeni N, Cimprich KA, Butte AJ, Ashley E, Zamanian RT. Whole-exome sequencing reveals TopBP1 as a novel gene in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2014;189(10):1260-72. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201310-1749OC. PubMed PMID: 24702692; PMCID: PMC4225850.* co-first author
  5. Yuan K, Lian Z, Sun B, Clayton MM, Ng IO, Feitelson MA. Role of miR-148a in hepatitis B associated hepatocellular carcinoma. PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e35331. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035331. PubMed PMID: 22496917; PMCID: PMC3322146.
  6. Yuan K, Orcholski M, Tian X, Liao X, de Jesus Perez VA. MicroRNAs: promising therapeutic targets for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Expert Opin Ther Targets. 2013;17(5):557-64. doi: 10.1517/14728222.2013.765863. PubMed PMID: 23379818.
  7. Sung YK*, Yuan K*, de Jesus Perez VA. Novel approaches to pulmonary arterial hypertension drug discovery. Expert Opin Drug Discov. 2016;11(4):407-14. doi: 10.1517/17460441.2016.1153625. PubMed PMID: 26901465; PMCID: PMC4933595.*co-first author
  8. Yuan K, Orcholski M, Huang NF and V de Jesus Perez, In Vivo Study Of Human Endothelial–Pericyte Interactions by Implantation Of Matrigel Plugs In SCID Mice, JOVE, 12/19/2016, Issue 118; doi: 10.3791/54617
  9. Yuan K, Cai L, Ngok SP, Ma L, Botham CM. Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Postdoctoral Fellowship. PLoS Comput Biol. 2016;12(7):e1004934. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004934. PubMed PMID: 27415752; PMCID: PMC4945040.
  10. de Jesus Perez VA, Yuan K, Orcholski ME, Sawada H, Zhao M, Li CG, Tojais NF, Nickel N, Rajagopalan V, Spiekerkoetter E, Wang L, Dutta R, Bernstein D, Rabinovitch M. Loss of adenomatous poliposis coli-alpha3 integrin interaction promotes endothelial apoptosis in mice and humans. Circ Res. 2012;111(12):1551-64. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.112.267849. PubMed PMID: 23011394; PMCID: PMC3821702

Publications

  1. Specialized pericyte subtypes in the pulmonary capillaries. EMBO J. 2025 Jan 13. View Abstract
  2. Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) receptor amplifies pathogenic activation of fibroblasts in lung fibrosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Dec 10; 121(50):e2401899121. View Abstract
  3. Robust differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into mural progenitor cells via transient activation of NKX3.1. Nat Commun. 2024 Sep 30; 15(1):8392. View Abstract
  4. Smooth muscle Cxcl12 activation is associated with vascular remodeling in flow-induced pulmonary hypertension. bioRxiv. 2024 Sep 10. View Abstract
  5. Changes in the investigation and management of suspected myocardial infarction and injury during COVID-19: a multi-centre study using routinely collected healthcare data. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2024; 11:1406608. View Abstract
  6. Pericytes contribute to pulmonary vascular remodeling via HIF2a signaling. EMBO Rep. 2024 Feb; 25(2):616-645. View Abstract
  7. Direct thrombin inhibitors fail to reverse the negative effects of heparin on lung growth and function after murine left pneumonectomy. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2024 Mar 01; 326(3):L213-L225. View Abstract
  8. A pneumonectomy model to study flow-induced pulmonary hypertension and compensatory lung growth. Cell Rep Methods. 2023 10 23; 3(10):100613. View Abstract
  9. C. difficile intoxicates neurons and pericytes to drive neurogenic inflammation. Nature. 2023 Oct; 622(7983):611-618. View Abstract
  10. Pericytes Contribute to Flow-induced Pulmonary Hypertension. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2023 06; 68(6):705-708. View Abstract
  11. Targeting Epsins to Inhibit Fibroblast Growth Factor Signaling While Potentiating Transforming Growth Factor-ß Signaling Constrains Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Atherosclerosis. Circulation. 2023 02 21; 147(8):669-685. View Abstract
  12. Single Cell Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Organ Specific Pericyte Markers and Identities. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2022; 9:876591. View Abstract
  13. Interferon-alpha or -beta facilitates SARS-CoV-2 pulmonary vascular infection by inducing ACE2. Angiogenesis. 2022 05; 25(2):225-240. View Abstract
  14. Lung Pericytes in Pulmonary Vascular Physiology and Pathophysiology. Compr Physiol. 2021 06 30; 11(3):2227-2247. View Abstract
  15. Precision Cut Lung Slices as an Efficient Tool for Ex vivo Pulmonary Vessel Structure and Contractility Studies. J Vis Exp. 2021 05 24; (171). View Abstract
  16. Inflammation in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2021; 1303:351-372. View Abstract
  17. From 2D to 3D: Promising Advances in Imaging Lung Structure. Front Med (Lausanne). 2020; 7:343. View Abstract
  18. Mural Cell SDF1 Signaling Is Associated with the Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2020 06; 62(6):747-759. View Abstract
  19. Loss of Endothelium-Derived Wnt5a Is Associated With Reduced Pericyte Recruitment and Small Vessel Loss in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Circulation. 2019 04 02; 139(14):1710-1724. View Abstract
  20. EMAPII: A Key Player in HIV-Nef-induced Pulmonary Vasculopathy. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2019 Mar; 60(3):257-258. View Abstract
  21. Hydrogel-based delivery of Il-10 improves treatment of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in mice. Biomaterials. 2019 05; 203:52-62. View Abstract
  22. Combination of recurrent oral aphthae and dry eye syndrome may constitute an independent risk factor for oral cavity cancer in elderly women. Cancer Manag Res. 2018; 10:3273-3281. View Abstract
  23. Recurrent aphthous stomatitis may be a precursor or risk factor for specific cancers: A case-control frequency-matched study. Cancer Med. 2018 08; 7(8):4104-4114. View Abstract
  24. Drug-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension: a primer for clinicians and scientists. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2018 06 01; 314(6):L967-L983. View Abstract
  25. Reduced carboxylesterase 1 is associated with endothelial injury in methamphetamine-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2017 08 01; 313(2):L252-L266. View Abstract
  26. In Vivo Study of Human Endothelial-Pericyte Interaction Using the Matrix Gel Plug Assay in Mouse. J Vis Exp. 2016 12 19; (118). View Abstract
  27. Increased Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 4 Expression in Lung Pericytes Is Associated with Reduced Endothelial-Pericyte Interactions and Small Vessel Loss in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Am J Pathol. 2016 09; 186(9):2500-14. View Abstract
  28. Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Postdoctoral Fellowship. PLoS Comput Biol. 2016 07; 12(7):e1004934. View Abstract
  29. Novel approaches to pulmonary arterial hypertension drug discovery. Expert Opin Drug Discov. 2016; 11(4):407-14. View Abstract
  30. PDGF-dependent ß-catenin activation is associated with abnormal pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation in pulmonary arterial hypertension. FEBS Lett. 2016 Jan; 590(1):101-9. View Abstract
  31. Loss of PPAR? in endothelial cells leads to impaired angiogenesis. J Cell Sci. 2016 Feb 15; 129(4):693-705. View Abstract
  32. Optical Coherence Tomography of Pulmonary Arterial Walls in Humans and Pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus). Comp Med. 2015 Jun; 65(3):217-24. View Abstract
  33. Perlecan heparan sulfate deficiency impairs pulmonary vascular development and attenuates hypoxic pulmonary hypertension. Cardiovasc Res. 2015 Jul 01; 107(1):20-31. View Abstract
  34. Cyclosporine Does Not Prevent Microvascular Loss in Transplantation but Can Synergize With a Neutrophil Elastase Inhibitor, Elafin, to Maintain Graft Perfusion During Acute Rejection. Am J Transplant. 2015 Jul; 15(7):1768-81. View Abstract
  35. Oxido-reductive regulation of vascular remodeling by receptor tyrosine kinase ROS1. J Clin Invest. 2014 Dec; 124(12):5159-74. View Abstract
  36. Activation of the Wnt/planar cell polarity pathway is required for pericyte recruitment during pulmonary angiogenesis. Am J Pathol. 2015 Jan; 185(1):69-84. View Abstract
  37. Targeting the Wnt signaling pathways in pulmonary arterial hypertension. Drug Discov Today. 2014 Aug; 19(8):1270-6. View Abstract
  38. Loss of bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2 is associated with abnormal DNA repair in pulmonary arterial hypertension. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2014 Jun; 50(6):1118-28. View Abstract
  39. Whole-exome sequencing reveals TopBP1 as a novel gene in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2014 May 15; 189(10):1260-72. View Abstract
  40. Leukotrienes in pulmonary arterial hypertension. Immunol Res. 2014 May; 58(2-3):387-93. View Abstract
  41. Perioperative pharmacological management of pulmonary hypertensive crisis during congenital heart surgery. Pulm Circ. 2014 Mar; 4(1):10-24. View Abstract
  42. Effectiveness of YouTube as a Source of Medical Information on Heart Transplantation. Interact J Med Res. 2013 Nov 21; 2(2):e28. View Abstract
  43. Tie2-dependent VHL knockdown promotes airway microvascular regeneration and attenuates invasive growth of Aspergillus fumigatus. J Mol Med (Berl). 2013 Sep; 91(9):1081-93. View Abstract
  44. MiR-133a modulates osteogenic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells. Endocrinology. 2013 Sep; 154(9):3344-52. View Abstract
  45. MicroRNAs: promising therapeutic targets for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Expert Opin Ther Targets. 2013 May; 17(5):557-64. View Abstract
  46. Loss of adenomatous poliposis coli-a3 integrin interaction promotes endothelial apoptosis in mice and humans. Circ Res. 2012 Dec 07; 111(12):1551-64. View Abstract
  47. Role of miR-148a in hepatitis B associated hepatocellular carcinoma. PLoS One. 2012; 7(4):e35331. View Abstract

Contact Ke Yuan

Phone: 617-355-1900
Fax: 617-730-0240
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