Qianhong Li, MD,PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine

Tel.: (502) 852-2463
E-mail: Dr Li

For nearly 18 years, Dr. Li has been investigating the mechanisms responsible for myocardial ischemia / reperfusion injury and developing the cardioprotective strategies including gene therapy and stem cell therapy. Dr. Li’s studies have demonstrated for the first time the effect of extracellular superoxide dismutase gene therapy on conscious rabbits against myocardial stunning and infarction, and the cardioprotective effect of inducible nitric oxide synthase gene therapy against myocardial infarction using a mouse model. She has developed a novel recombinant adeno-associated viral vector (rAAV) system, which is currently accepted as the most encouraging among all viral vector systems for clinical gene therapy. Additionally, she has established and developed a non-invasive, cardiac-specific biomarker system to monitor the extent of cardiac damage resulting from myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in vivo using three animal models (mice, rabbits, pigs). Combining the powers of molecular biology and gene transfer with the regenerative capacity of stem cells, Dr. Li and her associates are exploring the potentiation and mechanisms of adult cardiac stem cells to repair damaged myocardium. As a pioneer in this area, Dr. Li has procured NIH funding to create an adult cardiac stem cell system in the mouse. So far, this system has more than 30 cell populations.

Techniques in Use:

Molecular Biology - DNA cloning and gene expression, RT-PCR, microRNA profiles, real-time PCR, Western immunoblotting, ELISA, Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis on gene promoter.

Cell Biology - Cell line culture (293, H9C2, COS7, and smooth muscle cells); primary isolation and culture of neonatal cardiac myocytes from rat; isolation, sorting, expansion, and analysis of adult cardiac stem cells.

Virology and Gene Transfer - Design, construction, propagation, and analysis of rAd5 and rAAV vectors. Gene delivery mediated by rAd5 or rAAV in vivo (rabbits and mice), or by lipofectamine in vitro.  

Pathology - Preparation and section of frozen OCT blocks and paraffin blocks, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescent staining, trichrome staining, and microscope image analysis.

Selected Publications:

• Guo Y, Sanganalmath SK, Wu W, Zhu X, Huang Y, Tan W, Ildstad ST, Li Q, Bolli R. Identification of inducible nitric oxide synthase in peripheral blood cells as a mediator of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. Basic Res Cardiol. 2012 Mar;107(2):253. Epub 2012 Feb 21.
• Li Q, Guo Y, Ou Q, Wu WJ, Chen N, Zhu X, Tan W, Yuan F, Dawn B, Luo L, Hunt GN, Bolli R. Gene transfer as a strategy to achieve permanent cardioprotection II: rAAV-mediated gene therapy with heme oxygenase-1 limits infarct size 1 year later without adverse functional consequences. Basic Res Cardiol. 2011 Nov;106(6):1367-77. Epub 2011 Jul 22.
• Li Q, Guo Y, Wu WJ, Ou Q, Zhu X, Tan W, Yuan F, Chen N, Dawn B, Luo L, O'Brien E, Bolli R. Gene transfer as a strategy to achieve permanent cardioprotection I: rAAV-mediated gene therapy with inducible nitric oxide synthase limits infarct size 1 year later without adverse functional consequences. Basic Res Cardiol. 2011 Nov;106(6):1355-66. Epub 2011 Jul 21.
• Li Q, Guo Y, Ou Q, Chen N, Wu WJ, Yuan F, O'Brien E, Wang T, Luo L, Hunt GN, Zhu X, Bolli R. Intracoronary administration of cardiac stem cells in mice: a new, improved technique for cell therapy in murine models. Basic Res Cardiol. 2011 Sep;106(5):849-64. Epub 2011 Apr 24.
• Li Q, Guo Y, Ou Q, Cui C, Wu WJ, Tan W, Zhu X, Lanceta LB, Sanganalmath SK, Dawn B, Shinmura K, Rokosh GD, Wang S, Bolli R.Gene transfer of inducible nitric oxide synthase affords cardioprotection by upregulating heme oxygenase-1 via a nuclear factor-{kappa}B-dependent pathway. Circulation. 2009 Sep 29;120(13):1222-30. Epub 2009 Sep 14.
• Flaherty MP, Abdel-Latif A, Li Q, Hunt G, Ranjan S, Ou Q, Tang XL, Johnson RK, Bolli R, Dawn B. Noncanonical Wnt11 signaling is sufficient to induce cardiomyogenic differentiation in unfractionated bone marrow mononuclear cells. Circulation. 2008 Apr 29;117(17):2241-52. Epub 2008 Apr 21.
• Li Q, Guo Y, Tan W, Ou Q, Wu WJ, Sturza D, Dawn B, Hunt G, Cui C, Bolli R. Cardioprotection afforded by inducible nitric oxide synthase gene therapy is mediated by cyclooxygenase-2 via a nuclear factor-kappaB dependent pathway. Circulation. 2007 Oct 2;116(14):1577-84. Epub 2007 Sep 4.
• Li Q, Guo Y, Tan W, Stein AB, Dawn B, Wu WJ, Zhu X, Lu X, Xu X, Siddiqui T, Tiwari S, Bolli R. Gene therapy with iNOS provides long-term protection against myocardial infarction without adverse functional consequences. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2006 Feb;290(2):H584-9. Epub 2005 Sep 19.
• Li Q, Guo Y, Xuan YT, Lowenstein CJ, Stevenson SC, Prabhu SD, Wu WJ, Zhu Y, Bolli R. Gene therapy with inducible nitric oxide synthase protects against myocardial infarction via a cyclooxygenase-2-dependent mechanism. Circ Res. 2003 Apr 18;92(7):741-8.
• Li Q, Bolli R, Qiu Y, Tang XL, Guo Y, French BA. Gene therapy with extracellular superoxide dismutase protects conscious rabbits against myocardial infarction. Circulation. 2001 Apr 10;103(14):1893-8.