Our Team

Department: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Phone: (804) 828-2071

Fax: (804) 828-2117

Email: ningjun.li@vcuhealth.org

Address/Location:
Molecular Medicine Research Building, Room 3046
1220 East Broad Street
Box 980613
Richmond, Virginia

Education

• Henan Medical College, China, 1984

Research interests: Renal mechanisms of hypertension, mechanisms of chemotoxicity-induced kidney damage, and molecular pathways driving the progression of chronic kidney diseases.

Current research projects

• Renal sphingolipid signaling and hypertension:
  Investigating how sphingolipid-mediated pathways regulate sodium excretion in the kidney and contribute to the development of salt-sensitive hypertension.
  
  
• Sphingosine kinases in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity
  Examining the role of sphingosine kinase activation in mediating kidney injury caused by the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin.
  
  
• Endocannabinoid system in kidney injury and disease progression
  Studying the role of the endocannabinoid system in the transition from acute kidney injury (AKI) to chronic kidney disease (CKD), as well as its involvement in drug-induced nephrotoxicity.
  
  
• Renal α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor function
  Exploring how α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors regulate renal sodium handling and their contribution to blood pressure control.
  
  
• Fructose-induced salt-sensitive hypertension and hypoxia signaling
  Investigating the mechanisms by which dietary fructose promotes hypertension, with a focus on the role of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α deficiency in the renal medulla.

Several animal and cellular model systems have been used, including conditional knockout mice, tissue-specific gene overexpression models, sensitive hypertensive animal models, and various types of kidney cells. Many advanced approaches are also utilized, such as kidney-targeted drug delivery, telemetry-based blood pressure recording, laser Doppler blood flowmetry, servo-control of renal perfusion pressure, in vivo molecular imaging, and LC–MS/MS.

 

Selected publications:

• Li N, Li G. Sphingolipid signaling in kidney diseases. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2025 Mar 1;328(3): F431-F443. PMCID: PMC12177509
• Chen C, Wang W, Poklis JL, Li PL, Lichtman AH, Gewirtz DA, Li N. Mitigation of cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury through oral administration of fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor PF-04457845. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2025 Feb;392(2):100032. PMCID: PMC13095423
• Hu G, Xie D, Chen C, Wang W, Li PL, Ritter JK, Li N. Renal Medullary Overexpression of Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor 1 Transgene Attenuates Deoxycorticosterone Acetate (DOCA)-Salt Hypertension. Am J Hypertens. 2023 Aug 5;36(9):509-516. PMCID: PMC10403973
• Xie D, Wang J, Hu G, Chen C, Yang H, Ritter JK, Qu Y, Li N. Kidney-Targeted Delivery of Prolyl Hydroxylase Domain Protein 2 Small Interfering RNA with Nanoparticles Alleviated Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2021 Sep;378(3):235-243. PMCID: PMC11047054
• Wang Z, Tang L, Zhu Q, Yi F, Zhang F, Li PL, Li N. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α contributes to the profibrotic action of angiotensin II in renal medullary interstitial cells. Kidney Int. 2011 Feb;79(3):300-10. PMCID: PMC3107572
• Zhu Q, Wang Z, Xia M, Li PL, Van Tassell BW, Abbate A, Dhaduk R, Li N. (2011). Silencing of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α gene attenuated angiotensin II-induced renal injury in Sprague-Dawley rats. 58(4):657-64. PMCID: PMC3174356

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