Xian-Liang Tang, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine

Tel.: (502) 852-4539

E-mail : Email Dr. Tang

Dr. Tang completed a Research Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine in Dr. Bolli’s lab.  He is a well-trained pharmacologist and physiologist, who is also actively involved in studying the phenomenon of ischemic preconditioning in conscious rabbits, conscious pigs, open chest mice, isolated hearts, and other physiological models.  Dr. Tang’s research interests focus upon the mechanism of ischemic preconditioning (PC) and myocardial gene therapy using conscious rabbits, conscious rats, and open chest mouse models.  Ischemic PC is the phenomenon whereby brief episodes of ischemia render the myocardium resistant to subsequent ischemic/reperfused injury via mechanisms currently unknown.  Current research is focused upon cardiac stem cell-mediated cardiac repair and the role of hypercholsterolemia in caridac function, survival, and repair.  The studies that we have done or are ongoing included:  (1) demonstrating the late phase of ischemic preconditioning against myocardial stunning and infarction;  (2) investigating the mechanisms underlying ischemic preconditioning; (3) investigating the late preconditioning phenomenon under pathological conditions such as hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis; and (4) myocardial regeneration using cardiac stem cells.  The overall goal of Dr. Tang’s research is to elucidate the mechanism underlying  ischemic/reperfused myocardial injury and to explore novel strategies for myocardial protection in patients at risk.

Selected Publications:

• Cai C, Teng L, Vu D, He JQ, Guo Y, Li Q, Tang XL, Rokosh G, Bhatnagar A, Bolli R. The Heme Oxygenase 1 Inducer (CoPP) Protects Human Cardiac Stem Cells against Apoptosis through Activation of the Extracellular Signal-regulated Kinase (ERK)/NRF2 Signaling Pathway and Cytokine Release. J Biol Chem. 2012 Sep 28;287(40):33720-32. Epub 2012 Aug 9.
• Tang XL, Sanganalmath SK, Sato H, Bi Q, Hunt G, Vincent RJ, Peng Y, Shirk G, Dawn B, Bolli R. Atorvastatin therapy during the peri-infarct period attenuates left ventricular dysfunction and remodeling after myocardial infarction. PLoS One. 2011;6(9):e25320. Epub 2011 Sep 28.
• Zuba-Surma EK, Guo Y, Taher H, Sanganalmath SK, Hunt G, Vincent RJ, Kucia M, Abdel-Latif A, Tang XL, Ratajczak MZ, Dawn B, Bolli R. Transplantation of expanded bone marrow-derived very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSEL-SCs) improves left ventricular function and remodelling after myocardial infarction. J Cell Mol Med. 2011 Jun;15(6):1319-28. doi: 10.1111/j.1582-4934.2010.01126.x. Epub 2010 Jul 12.
• Tang XL, Rokosh G, Sanganalmath SK, Yuan F, Sato H, Mu J, Dai S, Li C, Chen N, Peng Y, Dawn B, Hunt G, Leri A, Kajstura J, Tiwari S, Shirk G, Anversa P, Bolli R. Intracoronary administration of cardiac progenitor cells alleviates left ventricular dysfunction in rats with a 30-day-old infarction. Circulation. 2010 Jan 19;121(2):293-305. Epub 2010 Jan 4.
• Kaiserova K, Tang XL, Srivastava S, Bhatnagar A. Role of nitric oxide in regulating aldose reductase activation in the ischemic heart. J Biol Chem. 2008 Apr 4;283(14):9101-12. Epub 2008 Jan 27.
• Sato H, Bolli R, Rokosh GD, Bi Q, Dai S, Shirk G, Tang XL. The cardioprotection of the late phase of ischemic preconditioning is enhanced by postconditioning via a COX-2-mediated mechanism in conscious rats. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2007 Oct;293(4):H2557-64. Epub 2007 Aug 17.
• Tang XL, Sato H, Tiwari S, Dawn B, Bi Q, Li Q, Shirk G, Bolli R. Cardioprotection by postconditioning in conscious rats is limited to coronary occlusions <45 min. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2006 Nov;291(5):H2308-17. Epub 2006 Jun 30.
• Tang XL, Takano H, Xuan YT, Sato H, Kodani E, Dawn B, Zhu Y, Shirk G, Wu WJ, Bolli R. Hypercholesterolemia abrogates late preconditioning via a tetrahydrobiopterin-dependent mechanism in conscious rabbits. Circulation. 2005 Oct 4;112(14):2149-56. Epub 2005 Sep 26.
• Tang XL, Stein AB, Shirk G, Bolli R. Hypercholesterolemia blunts NO donor-induced late preconditioning against myocardial infarction in conscious rabbits. Basic Res Cardiol. 2004 Nov;99(6):395-403. Epub 2004 Sep 16.
• Tang XL, Xuan YT, Zhu Y, Shirk G, Bolli R. Nicorandil induces late preconditioning against myocardial infarction in conscious rabbits. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2004 Apr;286(4):H1273-80. Epub 2003 Dec 18.