Xingbin Ai PhD

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep & Critical Care Medicine

72 E. Concord Street | (617) 414-3291
aix@bu.edu

Sections

Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep & Critical Care Medicine

Centers

Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research

Biography

Expertise and interests include:

REGULATION OF STEM CELL FUNCTION AND AGING BY HEPARAN SULFATE AND SULFS:
Environmental signals play crucial roles in self-renewal of stem cells, tissue regeneration and aging. Ai lab investigates heparan sulfate-dependent mechanisms that regulate extracellular signaling during stem cell maintenance and regeneration of the skeletal muscle. Our study is focused on two heparan sulfate-modifying enzymes called Sulfs.

NEUROGENESIS AND NEUROPLASTICITY IN PULMONARY DISEASES:
The respiratory tract is known to be innervated by two groups of neurons. The intrinsic neurons have cell bodies located within the tissue, while the extrinsic neurons have their cell bodies located in the central and peripheral nervous system and their axons innervating airway smooth muscle and neuroendocrine cells. Ai lab investigates neurotrophic signals that regulate neurogenesis in developing lung and neuroplasticity in pulmonary diseases. Our goal is to understand physiological roles of neural innervation in respiratory function, diseases and regeneration.

AIRWAY SMOOTH MUSCLE DEVELOPMENT AND REMODELING IN ASTHMA:
Airway smooth muscle hyperplasia and hyper-reactivity are key features of asthma. Ai lab, in collaboration with Dr. Alan Fine’s lab, investigates mechanisms underlying the formation and remodeling of airway smooth muscle. We are particularly interested in the sonic hedgehog pathway in control of airway smooth muscle development.

Websites

BU Profile

Education

Neuroscience/Neurology, PhD, Case Western Reserve University, 1999

Genetics & Genomics, BS, Fudan University, 1992

Publications

Published on 2/24/2023

Wang W, Garcia C, Shao F, Cohen JA, Bai Y, Fine A, Ai X. Lung dopaminergic nerves facilitate the establishment of TH2 resident memory cells in early life. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2023 Feb 24. PMID: 36841266.

PubMed

Published on 2/8/2023

Zhang Y, Black KE, Phung TN, Thundivalappil SR, Lin T, Wang W, Xu J, Zhang C, Hariri LP, Lapey A, Li H, Lerou PH, Ai X, Que J, Park JA, Hurley BP, Mou H. Human Airway Basal Cells Undergo Reversible Squamous Differentiation and Reshape Innate Immunity. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2023 Feb 08. PMID: 36753317.

PubMed

Published on 1/3/2023

Krishnamoorthy N, Walker KH, Brüggemann TR, Tavares LP, Smith EW, Nijmeh J, Bai Y, Ai X, Cagnina RE, Duvall MG, Lehoczky JA, Levy BD. The Maresin 1-LGR6 axis decreases respiratory syncytial virus-induced lung inflammation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Jan 10; 120(2):e2206480120. PMID: 36595677.

PubMed

Published on 5/5/2022

Bai Y, Ai X. Utilizing the Precision-Cut Lung Slice to Study the Contractile Regulation of Airway and Intrapulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle. J Vis Exp. 2022 May 05; (183). PMID: 35604150.

PubMed

Published on 11/18/2021

Bai Y, Guedes AGP, Krishnan R, Ai X. CD38 plays an age-related role in cholinergic deregulation of airway smooth muscle contractility. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2022 May; 149(5):1643-1654.e8. PMID: 34800431.

PubMed

Published on 8/14/2021

Wang W, Ai X. Primary culture of immature, naïve mouse CD4+ T cells. STAR Protoc. 2021 Sep 17; 2(3):100756. PMID: 34430922.

PubMed

Published on 7/13/2021

Hicks-Berthet J, Ning B, Federico A, Tilston-Lunel A, Matschulat A, Ai X, Lenburg ME, Beane J, Monti S, Varelas X. Yap/Taz inhibit goblet cell fate to maintain lung epithelial homeostasis. Cell Rep. 2021 07 13; 36(2):109347. PMID: 34260916.

PubMed

Published on 5/24/2021

Shui JE, Wang W, Liu H, Stepanova A, Liao G, Qian J, Ai X, Ten V, Lu J, Cardoso WV. Prematurity alters the progenitor cell program of the upper respiratory tract of neonates. Sci Rep. 2021 05 24; 11(1):10799. PMID: 34031475.

PubMed

Published on 4/20/2021

Mou H, Yang Y, Riehs MA, Barrios J, Shivaraju M, Haber AL, Montoro DT, Gilmore K, Haas EA, Paunovic B, Rajagopal J, Vargas SO, Haynes RL, Fine A, Cardoso WV, Ai X. Airway basal stem cells generate distinct subpopulations of PNECs. Cell Rep. 2021 04 20; 35(3):109011. PMID: 33882306.

PubMed

Published on 5/6/2020

Lu RA, Zeki AA, Ram-Mohan S, Nguyen N, Bai Y, Chmiel K, Pecic S, Ai X, Krishnan R, Ghosh CC. Inhibiting Airway Smooth Muscle Contraction Using Pitavastatin: A Role for the Mevalonate Pathway in Regulating Cytoskeletal Proteins. Front Pharmacol. 2020; 11:469. PMID: 32435188.

PubMed

View full list of 48 publications.