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Yen-Rei Andrea Yu

Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine
Medicine, Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine
Box 3010 Med Ctr, Durham, NC 27710
213 MSRB, Durham, NC 27710

Selected Publications


Nonclassical Monocytes Sense Hypoxia, Regulate Pulmonary Vascular Remodeling, and Promote Pulmonary Hypertension.

Journal Article J Immunol · March 15, 2020 An increasing body of evidence suggests that bone marrow-derived myeloid cells play a critical role in the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, the true requirement for myeloid cells in PH development has not been demonstrated, and a sp ... Full text Link to item Cite

Improving the Quality and Reproducibility of Flow Cytometry in the Lung. An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report.

Journal Article Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol · August 2019 Defining responses of the structural and immune cells in biologic systems is critically important to understanding disease states and responses to injury. This requires accurate and sensitive methods to define cell types in organ systems. The principal met ... Full text Link to item Cite

Sex Modifies Acute Ozone-Mediated Airway Physiologic Responses.

Journal Article Toxicol Sci · June 1, 2019 Sex differences clearly exist in incidence, susceptibility, and severity of airway disease and in pulmonary responses to air pollutants such as ozone (O3). Prior rodent O3 exposure studies demonstrate sex-related differences in the expression of lung infla ... Full text Link to item Cite

Improved efficacy against malignant brain tumors with EGFRwt/EGFRvIII targeting immunotoxin and checkpoint inhibitor combinations.

Journal Article J Immunother Cancer · May 29, 2019 BACKGROUND: D2C7-IT is a novel immunotoxin (IT) targeting wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFRwt) and mutant EGFR variant III (EGFRvIII) proteins in glioblastoma. In addition to inherent tumoricidal activity, immunotoxins induce secondary immun ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

T-Cell Exhaustion Signatures Vary with Tumor Type and Are Severe in Glioblastoma.

Journal Article Clin Cancer Res · September 1, 2018 Purpose: T-cell dysfunction is a hallmark of glioblastoma (GBM). Although anergy and tolerance have been well characterized, T-cell exhaustion remains relatively unexplored. Exhaustion, characterized in part by the upregulation of multiple immune checkpoin ... Full text Link to item Cite

Interleukin 1 receptor (IL-1R1) activation exacerbates toxin-induced acute kidney injury.

Journal Article Am J Physiol Renal Physiol · September 1, 2018 Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Drug-induced/toxic AKI can be caused by a number of therapeutic agents. Cisplatin is an effective chemotherapeutic agent whose administration is limited by significant nephrotoxicity. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Phenotyping Tumor-Associated Macrophages.

Journal Article Methods Mol Biol · 2018 Multi-parametric flow cytometry of tumor-bearing murine nonlymphoid tissue allows for characterization, isolation, and examination of immune cell composition, phenotype, and function. Here we describe an approach to process nonlymphoid tissues and then uti ... Full text Link to item Cite

Isolation and Characterization of Human Lung Myeloid Cells.

Journal Article Methods Mol Biol · 2018 Multiparameter flow cytometry of human lungs allows for characterization, isolation, and examination of human pulmonary immune cell composition, phenotype, and function. Here we describe an approach to process lung tissues and then utilize a base antibody ... Full text Link to item Cite

The cholesterol metabolite 27 hydroxycholesterol facilitates breast cancer metastasis through its actions on immune cells.

Journal Article Nature communications · October 2017 Obesity and elevated circulating cholesterol are risk factors for breast cancer recurrence, while the use of statins, cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitors widely used for treating hypercholesterolemia, is associated with improved disease-free survival. Here ... Full text Cite

A novel role for primary cilia in airway remodeling.

Journal Article Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol · August 1, 2017 Primary cilia (PC) are solitary cellular organelles that play critical roles in development, homeostasis, and disease pathogenesis by modulating key signaling pathways such as Sonic Hedgehog and calcium flux. The antenna-like shape of PC enables them also ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Flow Cytometric Analysis of Myeloid Cells in Human Blood, Bronchoalveolar Lavage, and Lung Tissues.

Journal Article Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol · January 2016 Clear identification of specific cell populations by flow cytometry is important to understand functional roles. A well-defined flow cytometry panel for myeloid cells in human bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and lung tissue is currently lacking. The objective ... Full text Link to item Cite

A Protocol for the Comprehensive Flow Cytometric Analysis of Immune Cells in Normal and Inflamed Murine Non-Lymphoid Tissues.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2016 Flow cytometry is used extensively to examine immune cells in non-lymphoid tissues. However, a method of flow cytometric analysis that is both comprehensive and widely applicable has not been described. We developed a protocol for the flow cytometric analy ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Age-related changes in the cellular composition and epithelial organization of the mouse trachea.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2014 We report here senescent changes in the structure and organization of the mucociliary pseudostratified epithelium of the mouse trachea and main stem bronchi. We confirm previous reports of the gradual appearance of age-related, gland-like structures (ARGLS ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

CCR2 deficiency, dysregulation of Notch signaling, and spontaneous pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Journal Article Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol · May 2013 In pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), there is overexpression of the chemokine, C-C chemokine ligand type 2 (CCL2), and infiltration of myeloid cells into the pulmonary vasculature. Inhibition of CCL2 in animals decreases PAH, suggesting that the CCL2 ... Full text Link to item Cite

CX3CR1 deficiency impairs dendritic cell accumulation in arterial intima and reduces atherosclerotic burden.

Journal Article Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol · February 2008 OBJECTIVE: Dendritic cells (DCs) have recently been found in atherosclerosis-predisposed regions of arteries and have been proposed to be causal in atherosclerosis. The chemokine receptor CX3CR1 is associated with arterial injury and atherosclerosis. We so ... Full text Link to item Cite

Defective antitumor responses in CX3CR1-deficient mice.

Journal Article Int J Cancer · July 15, 2007 Innate immunity is critically important for tumor surveillance and regulating tumor metastasis. Fractalkine (FKN, CX3CL1), operating through the receptor CX3CR1, is an effective chemoattractant and adhesion receptor for NK cells and monocytes, important co ... Full text Link to item Cite

Defective lymphocyte chemotaxis in beta-arrestin2- and GRK6-deficient mice.

Journal Article Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · May 28, 2002 Lymphocyte chemotaxis is a complex process by which cells move within tissues and across barriers such as vascular endothelium and is usually stimulated by chemokines such as stromal cell-derived factor-1 (CXCL12) acting via G protein-coupled receptors. Be ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Mutational analysis of the fractalkine chemokine domain. Basic amino acid residues differentially contribute to CX3CR1 binding, signaling, and cell adhesion.

Journal Article J Biol Chem · June 15, 2001 Fractalkine (FKN/CX3CL1) is a unique member of the chemokine gene family and contains a chemokine domain (CD), a mucin-like stalk, a single transmembrane region, and a short intracellular C terminus. This structural distinction affords FKN the property of ... Full text Link to item Cite

Nonclassical Monocytes Sense Hypoxia, Regulate Pulmonary Vascular Remodeling, and Promote Pulmonary Hypertension.

Journal Article J Immunol · March 15, 2020 An increasing body of evidence suggests that bone marrow-derived myeloid cells play a critical role in the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, the true requirement for myeloid cells in PH development has not been demonstrated, and a sp ... Full text Link to item Cite

Improving the Quality and Reproducibility of Flow Cytometry in the Lung. An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report.

Journal Article Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol · August 2019 Defining responses of the structural and immune cells in biologic systems is critically important to understanding disease states and responses to injury. This requires accurate and sensitive methods to define cell types in organ systems. The principal met ... Full text Link to item Cite

Sex Modifies Acute Ozone-Mediated Airway Physiologic Responses.

Journal Article Toxicol Sci · June 1, 2019 Sex differences clearly exist in incidence, susceptibility, and severity of airway disease and in pulmonary responses to air pollutants such as ozone (O3). Prior rodent O3 exposure studies demonstrate sex-related differences in the expression of lung infla ... Full text Link to item Cite

Improved efficacy against malignant brain tumors with EGFRwt/EGFRvIII targeting immunotoxin and checkpoint inhibitor combinations.

Journal Article J Immunother Cancer · May 29, 2019 BACKGROUND: D2C7-IT is a novel immunotoxin (IT) targeting wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFRwt) and mutant EGFR variant III (EGFRvIII) proteins in glioblastoma. In addition to inherent tumoricidal activity, immunotoxins induce secondary immun ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

T-Cell Exhaustion Signatures Vary with Tumor Type and Are Severe in Glioblastoma.

Journal Article Clin Cancer Res · September 1, 2018 Purpose: T-cell dysfunction is a hallmark of glioblastoma (GBM). Although anergy and tolerance have been well characterized, T-cell exhaustion remains relatively unexplored. Exhaustion, characterized in part by the upregulation of multiple immune checkpoin ... Full text Link to item Cite

Interleukin 1 receptor (IL-1R1) activation exacerbates toxin-induced acute kidney injury.

Journal Article Am J Physiol Renal Physiol · September 1, 2018 Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Drug-induced/toxic AKI can be caused by a number of therapeutic agents. Cisplatin is an effective chemotherapeutic agent whose administration is limited by significant nephrotoxicity. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Phenotyping Tumor-Associated Macrophages.

Journal Article Methods Mol Biol · 2018 Multi-parametric flow cytometry of tumor-bearing murine nonlymphoid tissue allows for characterization, isolation, and examination of immune cell composition, phenotype, and function. Here we describe an approach to process nonlymphoid tissues and then uti ... Full text Link to item Cite

Isolation and Characterization of Human Lung Myeloid Cells.

Journal Article Methods Mol Biol · 2018 Multiparameter flow cytometry of human lungs allows for characterization, isolation, and examination of human pulmonary immune cell composition, phenotype, and function. Here we describe an approach to process lung tissues and then utilize a base antibody ... Full text Link to item Cite

The cholesterol metabolite 27 hydroxycholesterol facilitates breast cancer metastasis through its actions on immune cells.

Journal Article Nature communications · October 2017 Obesity and elevated circulating cholesterol are risk factors for breast cancer recurrence, while the use of statins, cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitors widely used for treating hypercholesterolemia, is associated with improved disease-free survival. Here ... Full text Cite

A novel role for primary cilia in airway remodeling.

Journal Article Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol · August 1, 2017 Primary cilia (PC) are solitary cellular organelles that play critical roles in development, homeostasis, and disease pathogenesis by modulating key signaling pathways such as Sonic Hedgehog and calcium flux. The antenna-like shape of PC enables them also ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Flow Cytometric Analysis of Myeloid Cells in Human Blood, Bronchoalveolar Lavage, and Lung Tissues.

Journal Article Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol · January 2016 Clear identification of specific cell populations by flow cytometry is important to understand functional roles. A well-defined flow cytometry panel for myeloid cells in human bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and lung tissue is currently lacking. The objective ... Full text Link to item Cite

A Protocol for the Comprehensive Flow Cytometric Analysis of Immune Cells in Normal and Inflamed Murine Non-Lymphoid Tissues.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2016 Flow cytometry is used extensively to examine immune cells in non-lymphoid tissues. However, a method of flow cytometric analysis that is both comprehensive and widely applicable has not been described. We developed a protocol for the flow cytometric analy ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Age-related changes in the cellular composition and epithelial organization of the mouse trachea.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2014 We report here senescent changes in the structure and organization of the mucociliary pseudostratified epithelium of the mouse trachea and main stem bronchi. We confirm previous reports of the gradual appearance of age-related, gland-like structures (ARGLS ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

CCR2 deficiency, dysregulation of Notch signaling, and spontaneous pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Journal Article Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol · May 2013 In pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), there is overexpression of the chemokine, C-C chemokine ligand type 2 (CCL2), and infiltration of myeloid cells into the pulmonary vasculature. Inhibition of CCL2 in animals decreases PAH, suggesting that the CCL2 ... Full text Link to item Cite

CX3CR1 deficiency impairs dendritic cell accumulation in arterial intima and reduces atherosclerotic burden.

Journal Article Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol · February 2008 OBJECTIVE: Dendritic cells (DCs) have recently been found in atherosclerosis-predisposed regions of arteries and have been proposed to be causal in atherosclerosis. The chemokine receptor CX3CR1 is associated with arterial injury and atherosclerosis. We so ... Full text Link to item Cite

Defective antitumor responses in CX3CR1-deficient mice.

Journal Article Int J Cancer · July 15, 2007 Innate immunity is critically important for tumor surveillance and regulating tumor metastasis. Fractalkine (FKN, CX3CL1), operating through the receptor CX3CR1, is an effective chemoattractant and adhesion receptor for NK cells and monocytes, important co ... Full text Link to item Cite

Defective lymphocyte chemotaxis in beta-arrestin2- and GRK6-deficient mice.

Journal Article Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · May 28, 2002 Lymphocyte chemotaxis is a complex process by which cells move within tissues and across barriers such as vascular endothelium and is usually stimulated by chemokines such as stromal cell-derived factor-1 (CXCL12) acting via G protein-coupled receptors. Be ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Mutational analysis of the fractalkine chemokine domain. Basic amino acid residues differentially contribute to CX3CR1 binding, signaling, and cell adhesion.

Journal Article J Biol Chem · June 15, 2001 Fractalkine (FKN/CX3CL1) is a unique member of the chemokine gene family and contains a chemokine domain (CD), a mucin-like stalk, a single transmembrane region, and a short intracellular C terminus. This structural distinction affords FKN the property of ... Full text Link to item Cite