About

Dr. Yi Wang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at UC Davis. He leads a research lab focused on metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and bioprocess engineering, addressing critical challenges in agriculture, energy, environment, and health. His research encompasses developing innovative strategies to produce biofuels, biochemicals, and biomaterials from underutilized and low-value feedstocks, utilizing metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and bioprocess engineering techniques. Additionally, Dr. Wang engages in groundbreaking research aimed at pathogen detection, control, and treatment, as well as enhancing plant and animal health through engineered microorganisms. His work also explores the integration of biological engineering and synthetic biology to promote environmental sustainability and safety.

Research topics

• Cell biology
• Biology
• Medicine
• Immunology
• Internal medicine
• Cardiology
• Pharmacology
• Pathology
• Materials science
• Nanotechnology

Selected publications

• Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles for immunomodulation and regeneration: a next generation therapeutic tool?

  Cell Death and Disease · 2022 · 556 citations

  • Cell biology
  • Biology

  Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be widely isolated from various tissues including bone marrow, umbilical cord, and adipose tissue, with the potential for self-renewal and multipotent differentiation. There is compelling evidence that the therapeutic effect of MSCs mainly depends on their paracrine action. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are fundamental paracrine effectors of MSCs and play a crucial role in intercellular communication, existing in various body fluids and cell supernatants. Since MSC-derived EVs retain the function of protocells and have lower immunogenicity, they have a wide range of prospective therapeutic applications with advantages over cell therapy. We describe some characteristics of MSC-EVs, and discuss their role in immune regulation and regeneration, with emphasis on the molecular mechanism and application of MSC-EVs in the treatment of fibrosis and support tissue repair. We also highlight current challenges in the clinical application of MSC-EVs and potential ways to overcome the problem of quality heterogeneity.

  DOI

• Targeting Ferroptosis by Polydopamine Nanoparticles Protects Heart against Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

  ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces · 2021 · 128 citations

  • Pharmacology
  • Materials science
  • Medicine

  Ferroptosis is a new form of regulated cell death depending on elevated iron (Fe2+) and lipid peroxidation levels. Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury has been shown to be closely associated with ferroptosis. Therefore, antiferroptosis agents are considered to be a new strategy for managing myocardial I/R injury. Here, we developed polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA NPs) as a new type of ferroptosis inhibitor for cardioprotection. The PDA NPs features intriguing properties in inhibiting Fe2+ accumulation and restoring mitochondrial functions in H9c2 cells. Subsequently, we demonstrated that administration of PDA NPs effectively reduced Fe2+ deposition and lipid peroxidation in a myocardial I/R injury mouse model. In addition, the myocardial I/R injury in mice was alleviated by PDA NPs treatment, as demonstrated by reduced infarct size and improved cardiac functions. The present work indicates the therapeutic effects of PDA NPs against myocardial I/R injury via preventing ferroptosis.

  DOI

• Exosomes derived from three-dimensional cultured human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells ameliorate pulmonary fibrosis in a mouse silicosis model

  Stem Cell Research & Therapy · 2020 · 73 citations

  • Medicine
  • Immunology
  • Pathology

  BACKGROUND: Silicosis is an occupational respiratory disease caused by long-term excessive silica inhalation, which is most commonly encountered in industrial settings. Unfortunately, there is no effective therapy to delay and cure the progress of silicosis. In the recent years, stem cell therapy has emerged as an attractive tool against pulmonary fibrosis (PF) owing to its unique biological characteristics. However, the direct use of stem cells remains limitation by many risk factors for therapeutic purposes. The exclusive utility of exosomes secreted from stem cells, rather than cells, has been considered a promising alternative to overcome the limitations of cell-based therapy while maintaining its advantages. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, we first employed a three-dimensional (3D) dynamic system to culture human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (hucMSC) spheroids in a microcarrier suspension to yield exosomes from serum-free media. Experimental silicosis was induced in C57BL/6J mice by intratracheal instillation of a silica suspension, with/without exosomes derived from hucMSC (hucMSC-Exos), injection via the tail vein afterwards. The results showed that the gene expression of collagen I (COL1A1) and fibronectin (FN) was upregulated in the silica group as compared to that in the control group; however, this change decreased with hucMSC-Exo treatment. The value of FEV0.1 decreased in the silica group as compared to that in the control group, and this change diminished with hucMSC-Exo treatment. These findings suggested that hucMSC-Exos could inhibit silica-induced PF and regulate pulmonary function. We also performed in vitro experiments to confirm these findings; the results revealed that hucMSC-Exos decreased collagen deposition in NIH-3T3 cells exposed to silica. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these studies support a potential role for hucMSC-Exos in ameliorating pulmonary fibrosis and provide new evidence for improving clinical treatment induced by silica.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Fuzheng Guo

  Jilin University

  104 shared

• Sheng Zhang

  Anhui Agricultural University

  60 shared

• Bokyung Kim

  University of California, Davis

  48 shared

• Zhaohui Lan

  University of California, Davis

  39 shared

• Vanessa L. Hull

  University of California, Davis

  32 shared

• David Pleasure

  University of California, Davis

  27 shared

• Travis Burns

  University of California, Davis

  23 shared

• Eileen M. Boyle

  16 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Agricultural and Biological Engineering

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  2012

• M.S., Environmental Engineering

  University of Science and Technology of China

  2006

• B.S., Environmental Engineering

  University of Science and Technology Beijing

  2006

Awards & honors

• Auburn University College of Agriculture Outstanding Publica…
• Auburn University College of Agriculture Dean’s Research Awa…
• Early Career Award, Association of Overseas Chinese Agricult…
• Auburn University College of Engineering Dean’s Research Awa…
• Auburn University College of Agriculture Dean’s Grantsmanshi…

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