Research Interests
My lab is interested in identifying the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the development of acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. We utilize a combination of in vivo animal models (experimental models of disease, conditional knockout mice) and in vitro (tubular and podocyte cell culture) methods. Our research has revealed that the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway protects against AKI-to-CKD progression but may also have a paradoxical role in promoting proteinuria and podocyte/glomerular injury. We are studying the role of MCP-1 and Wnt/beta-catenin on proteinuria and kidney fibrosis. We are collaborating on projects to identify and characterize microvascular rarefaction in the kidney with super-resolution ultrasound in both animal models and human subjects. Our overall goal is to improve the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of kidney disease using a translational bench-to-bedside approach.
Selected Publications
- Tan RJ, Li Y, Rush BM, Cerqueira DM, Zhou D, Fu H, Ho J, Beer Stolz D, Liu Y. Tubular injury triggers podocyte dysfunction by ?-catenin-driven release of MMP-7. JCI Insight. 2019 Dec 19;4(24). doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.122399. PubMed PMID: 31743113; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6975262.
- Rush BM, Small SA, Stolz DB, Tan RJ. An Efficient Sieving Method to Isolate Intact Glomeruli from Adult Rat Kidney. J Vis Exp. 2018 Nov 1;(141). doi: 10.3791/58162. PubMed PMID: 30451231; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6688477.
- Jobbagy S, Tan RJ. Nitrolipids in kidney physiology and disease. Nitric Oxide. 2018 Mar 29;. doi: 10.1016/j.niox.2018.03.021. [Epub ahead of print] Review. PubMed PMID: 29605557; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6163094.
- Tan RJ, Chartoumpekis DV, Rush BM, Zhou D, Fu H, Kensler TW, Liu Y. Keap1 hypomorphism protects against ischemic and obstructive kidney disease. Sci Rep. 2016 Nov 2;6:36185. doi: 10.1038/srep36185. PubMed PMID: 27804998; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5090361.
- Tan RJ, Zhou D, Xiao L, Zhou L, Li Y, Bastacky SI, Oury TD, Liu Y. Extracellular Superoxide Dismutase Protects against Proteinuric Kidney Disease. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2015 Oct;26(10):2447-59. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2014060613. Epub 2015 Feb 2. PubMed PMID: 25644107; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4587687.
- Tan RJ, Zhou D, Zhou L, Liu Y. Wnt/?-catenin signaling and kidney fibrosis. Kidney Int Suppl (2011). 2014 Nov;4(1):84-90. doi: 10.1038/kisup.2014.16. Review. PubMed PMID: 26312156; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4536962.
- Tan RJ, Zhou L, Zhou D, Lin L, Liu Y. Endothelin receptor a blockade is an ineffective treatment for adriamycin nephropathy. PLoS One. 2013;8(11):e79963. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079963. eCollection 2013. PubMed PMID: 24265790; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3825716.
- Tan RJ, Fattman CL, Niehouse LM, Tobolewski JM, Hanford LE, Li Q, Monzon FA, Parks WC, Oury TD. Matrix metalloproteinases promote inflammation and fibrosis in asbestos-induced lung injury in mice. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2006 Sep;35(3):289-97. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2005-0471OC. Epub 2006 Mar 30. PubMed PMID: 16574944; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1820635.
- Tan RJ, Lee JS, Manni ML, Fattman CL, Tobolewski JM, Zheng M, Kolls JK, Martin TR, Oury TD. Inflammatory cells as a source of airspace extracellular superoxide dismutase after pulmonary injury. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2006 Feb;34(2):226-32. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2005-0212OC. Epub 2005 Oct 13. PubMed PMID: 16224105; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2644184.