Faculty Profile

Ying-Jie Peng
Section of Emergency Medicine
Research Professor
ypeng1@bsd.uchicago.edu

Academic Interests

Humans experiencing chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) as a consequence of recurrent apneas are prone to develop augmented sympathetic nerve activity, hypertension and ventilatory abnormalities. Dr. Peng's research focuses on assessing the mechanisms associated with CIH-induced autonomic abnormalities. The lab is specifically testing the role of carotid bodies, the primary chemoreceptor for sensing arterial blood O2. Their studies demonstrate that CIH leads to enhanced hypoxic sensing of the carotid body involving reactive oxygen species-mediated signaling mechanisms. Consequently, they are currently testing the hypothesis that CIH-induced functional re-modeling of the carotid body results in reflexive activation of sympathetic nerve activity and elevated blood pressure.
 

Clinical Interests

 

Publications

  • Peng YJ, Nanduri J, Raghuraman G, Souvannakitti D, Gadalla MM, Kumar GK, Snyder SH, and Prabhakar NR. H2S mediates carotid body O2 sensing. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 107(23):10719-10724, 2010.
  • Peng YJ, Nanduri J, Khan SA, Yuan G, Wang N, Kinsman B, Vaddi DR, Kumar GK, Garcia JA, Semenza GL, Prabhakar NR. Hypoxia-inducible factor 2a (HIF-2a) heterozygous-null mice exhibit exaggerated carotid body sensitivity to hypoxia, breathing instability, and hypertension. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 108(7): 3065-3070, 2011.
  • Peng YJ, Makarenko VV, Nanduri J, Vasavda C, Raghuraman G, Yuan G, Gadalla MM, Kumar GK, Snyder SH, Prabhakar NR. Inherent variations in CO-H2S-mediated carotid body O2 sensing mediate hypertension and pulmonary edema. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 111: 1174-1179, 2014.
  • Peng YJ, Yuan G, Khan S, Nanduri J, Makarenko VV, Reddy VD, Vasavda C, Kumar GK, Semenza GL, Prabhakar NR. Regulation of hypoxia inducible factor-alpha isoforms and redox state by carotid body neural activity in rats. J Physiol 592(Pt 17): 3841-3858, 2014.
  • Yuan G, Peng YJ, Khan SA, Nanduri J, Singh A, Vasavda C, Semenza GL, Kumar GK, Snyder SH, and Prabhakar NR. H2S production by reactive oxygen species in the carotid body triggers hypertension in a rodent model of sleep apnea. Sci Signal 9: ra80, 2016

Training

  • BS, 1991, East China Normal University, Biology
  • MS, 1994, East China Normal University, Physiology
  • PhD, 1999, Shanghai Medical University, Physiology