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Faculty Detail    
Name ANUPAM AGARWAL
Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology;
Executive Vice Dean, UAB School of Medicine
 
Campus Address ZRB 629
Phone  (205) 996-6680
E-mail  agarwal@uab.edu
Other websites Physician Profile
O'Brien Center
     

Certifications
ABIM Internal medicine  2007 
ABIM Interrnal Medicine - Nephrology  2008 


Faculty Appointment(s)
Appointment Type Department Division Rank
Primary  Med - Nephrology  Med - Nephrology Professor
Secondary  Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics  Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics Associate Professor
Secondary  Cell, Developmntl, & Integrative Biology  Cell, Developmntl, & Integrative Biology Professor
Secondary  Joint Pathology  Molecular & Cellular Pathology Professor
Center  Comp Arthritis, MSK, Bone & Autoimmunity Ctr  Comp Arthritis, MSK, Bone & Autoimmunity Ctr Professor
Center  Comprehensive Cancer Center  Comprehensive Cancer Center Professor
Center  Comprehensive Cardiovascular Ctr  Comprehensive Cardiovascular Ctr Professor
Center  Comprehensive Diabetes Center  Comprehensive Diabetes Center Professor
Center  Ctr for Clinical & Translational Sci  Ctr for Clinical & Translational Sci Professor
Center  GL Ctr for Craniofacial, Oral, & Dental Disorders  GL Ctr for Craniofacial, Oral, & Dental Disorders Professor
Center  Integrative Center for Aging Research  Integrative Center for Aging Research Professor
Center  Nephrology Research & Training Center  Nephrology Research & Training Center Professor
Center  Nutrition Sciences Research  Nutrition Obesity Res Ctr (NORC) Professor

Graduate Biomedical Sciences Affiliations
Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Program 
Biochemistry and Structural Biology 
Cell, Molecular, & Developmental Biology 
Cellular and Molecular Biology Program 
Hughes Med-Grad Fellowship Program 
Medical Scientist Training Program 
Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine 

Biographical Sketch 
Dr. Agarwal graduated with honors from Kasturba Medical College in India. He completed his residency at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in India, where he also completed a nephrology fellowship. Dr. Agarwal was a nephrology fellow at the University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinic in Minneapolis. He then joined the Division of Nephrology, Hypertension, and Transplantation at the University of Florida in Gainesville as an assistant professor and was promoted to tenured associate professor. He was promoted to the rank of Professor at UAB in October 2005 and was named the Thomas E. Andreoli Professor of Nephrology in September 2006. He was appointed Division Director for Nephrology at UAB in January 2008 and served in this role through September 2021. He has also served as Vice Chair for Research for the UAB Department of Medicine from 2009-2014. He was appointed to the Marie S. Ingalls Endowed Chair in Nephrology Leadership in April 2011 and served as Interim Chairman for the UAB Department of Medicine (August 1, 2011-August 31, 2012). Dr. Agarwal also served as the Interim Senior Vice President and Dean, UAB School of Medicine from Feb 2013-Oct 2013. He is currently the Hilda Anderson Endowed Chair in Nephrology and Executive Vice Dean for the UAB Heersink School of Medicine.

Society Memberships
Organization Name Position Held Org Link
American Clinical and Climatological Association     
American Physiological Society     
American Society for Clinical Investigation     
American Society of Nephrology  Councilor   
Association of American Physicians     
International Society of Nephrology     
National Kidney Foundation     
Society for Free Radical Biology     
Southern Society for Clinical Investigation     



Research/Clinical Interest
Title
Regulation of heme oxygenase gene expression in kidney and vascular injury
Description
Dr. Agarwal's principal interests in clinical nephrology include acute kidney injury, specifically in the intensive care unit setting, toxic nephropathies, fluid and electrolyte disorders, glomerular disorders, progression of renal disease, and diabetic nephropathy. His long term goals are to pursue a career in academic nephrology with the primary focus being on basic research, teaching and patient care. His goal is to apply knowledge gained from bench research to the bedside, enabling research to be a significant contributor to advancement in clinical medicine. Dr. Agarwal’s research program has provided critical insights regarding the protective nature and significance of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in acute kidney injury (AKI), and the molecular regulation of the human HO-1 gene. His research efforts include three main areas. (i) His laboratory is studying the molecular regulation of the human HO-1 gene in renal and vascular injury. Induction of this gene occurs as an adaptive and beneficial response to injury and is protective in several clinically important conditions such as acute kidney injury, transplant rejection and atherosclerosis. Studies have identified key regulatory regions in the human HO-1 gene that mediate induction in response to stimuli such as heme, cytokines, nitric oxide and growth factors. (ii) The functional significance of HO-1 gene expression is also being evaluated in animal models of acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease following cutaneous exposure to arsenicals using knockout and cell specific HO-1 expression (e.g. proximal tubules, myeloid cells). (iii) His laboratory is also exploring the role of lymphangiogenesis in the pathogenesis of AKI and AKI to CKD.

Selected Publications 
Publication PUBMEDID
Zarjou A, Bolisetty S, Joseph R, Traylor A, Apostolov EO, Arosio P, Balla J, Verlander J, Darshan D, Kuhn LC, Agarwal A. Proximal tubule H-ferritin mediates iron trafficking in acute kidney injury. J Clin Invest. 2013 Oct 1;123(10):4423-34  24018561 
Hovater MB, Ying WZ, Agarwal A, Sanders PW. Nitric oxide and carbon monoxide antagonize TGF-beta; through ligand-independent internalization of TGF-beta R1/ALK5. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2014 Sep 15;307(6):F727-35  25100282 
Mehta RL, Sanders PW, Agarwal A. Changing paradigms in acute kidney injury: from mechanisms to management--proceedings of the 5th annual UAB-UCSD O'Brien Center Symposium (San Diego, Calif., USA, March 4, 2014). Nephron Clin Pract. 2014;127(1-4):117-8.  25343833 
Hull TD, Kamal AI, Boddu R, Bolisetty S, Guo L, Tisher CC, Rangarajan S, Chen B, Curtis LM, George JF, Agarwal A. Heme Oxygenase-1 Regulates Myeloid Cell Trafficking in AKI. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2015 Feb 12. pii: ASN.2014080770. [Epub ahead of print]  25677389 
Li FJ, Duggal RN, Oliva OM, Karki S, Surolia R, Wang Z, Watson RD, Thannickal VJ, Powell M, Watts S, Kulkarni T, Batra H, Bolisetty S, Agarwal A, Antony VB. Heme Oxygenase-1 Protects Corexit 9500A-Induced Respiratory Epithelial Injury across Species. PLoS One. 2015 Apr 2;10(4):e0122275.  25835394 
Hull TD, Agarwal A, George JF. The mononuclear phagocyte system in homeostasis and disease: a role for heme oxygenase-1. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2014 Apr 10;20(11):1770-88.   24147608 
Bolisetty S, Traylor AM, Joseph R, Zarjou A, Agarwal A. Proximal tubule-targeted heme oxygenase-1 in cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2015 Dec 16, [Epub ahead of print]
 
26672618  
Zhou X, Yang G, Davis CA, Doi SQ, Hirszel P, Wingo CS, Agarwal A. Hydrogen peroxide mediates FK506-induced cytotoxicity in renal cells. Kidney International 2004;65:139-147.  14675044 
Davis CA, Hearn AS, Fletcher B, Bickford J, Garcia JE, Leveque V, Melendez JA, Silverman DN, Zucali J, Agarwal A, Nick HS. Potent anti-tumor effects of an active site mutant of human MnSOD: Evolutionary conservation of product inhibition. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2004;279:12769-12776.  14688256 
Sikorski EM, Hock TD, Hill-Kapturczak N, Agarwal A. The story so far…..Molecular regulation of the heme oxygenase-1 gene in renal injury. Invited review. American Journal of Physiology (Renal). 2004;286:F425-F441.  14761930 
Hock TD, Nick HS, Agarwal A. Upstream stimulatory factors, USF1 and USF2 bind to the human haem oxygenase-1 proximal promoter in vivo and regulate its transcription. Biochemical Journal 2004;383:209-218.  15242350 
Chen S, Segal MS, Agarwal A. “Lumen digestion” technique for isolation of aortic endothelial cells from heme oxygenase-1 knockout mice. Biotechniques 2004;37:84-89.  15283205 
Kapturczak MH, Wasserfall C, Brusko T, Campbell-Thompson M, Ellis TM, Atkinson MA, Agarwal A. Heme Oxygenase-1 Modulates Early Inflammatory Responses: Evidence from the Heme Oxygenase-1 Deficient Mouse. American Journal of Pathology 2004;165:1045-1053.  15331427 
Adin CA, Croker BP, Agarwal A. Protective effects of exogenous bilirubin on ischemia-reperfusion injury in the isolated perfused rat kidney. American Journal of Physiology, Renal Physiology 2005;288:F778-F784.  15561977 
Chen S, Kapturczak MH, Loiler SA, Zolotukhin S, Glushakova OY, Madsen KM, Samulski RJ, Hauswirth WW, Berns KI, Flotte TR, Atkinson MA, Tisher CC, Agarwal A. Efficient transduction of vascular endothelial cells with recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 1 and 5 vectors. Human Gene Therapy 2005;16:235-247.  15761263 
Brusko TM, Wasserfall CH, Agarwal A, Kapturczak MH, Atkinson MA. An integral role for heme oxygenase-1 and carbon monoxide in maintaining peripheral tolerance by CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells. J Immunol. 2005;174:5181-6.
 
15843512 
Chen S, Kapturczak MH, Wasserfall C, Glushakova OY, Campbell-Thompson M, Deshane JS, Joseph R, Hauswirth WW, Madsen KM, Croker BP, Berns, KI, Atkinson MA, Flotte TR, Tisher CC, Agarwal A. Interleukin-10 attenuates neointimal proliferation and inflammation in aortic allografts via a heme oxygenase dependent pathway. Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, USA 2005;102:7251-7256.   15878989 
Liby K, Hock T, Yore MM, Suh N, Place AE, Risingsong R, Williams CR, Royce DB, Honda T, Honda Y, Gribble GW, Hill-Kapturczak N, Agarwal A, Sporn MB. The synthetic triterpenoids, CDDO and CDDO-imidazolide, are potent inducers of heme oxygenase-1 and Nrf2/ARE signaling. Cancer Res. 2005;65:4789-98.  15930299 
Mu W, Ouyang X, Agarwal A, Zhang L, Long DA, Cruz PE, Roncal CA, Glushakova OY, Chiodo VA, Atkinson MA, Hauswirth WW, Flotte TR, Rodriguez-Iturbe B, Johnson RJ. IL-10 suppresses chemokines, inflammation, and fibrosis in a model of chronic renal disease. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2005;16:3651-60.  16251240 
Basireddy M, Isbell TS, Teng X, Patel RP, Agarwal A. Effects of sodium nitrite on ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat kidney. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2006;290:F779-86.  16278276 
Zhou H, Liu H, Porvasnik SL, Terada N, Agarwal A, Cheng Y, Visner GA. Heme oxygenase-1 mediates the protective effects of rapamycin in monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension. Lab Invest. 2006;86:62-71.  16357868 
Chen S, Wasserfall C, Kapturczak MH, Atkinson M, Agarwal A. Freeze-thaw increases adeno-associated virus transduction of cells. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2006:291(2):C386-92.   16510845 
Hill-Kapturczak N, Agarwal A. Carbon monoxide: from silent killer to potential remedy. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2006;290:F787-8.  16527924  
Wright MM, Schopfer FJ, Baker PR, Vidyasagar V, Powell P, Chumley P, Iles KE, Freeman BA, Agarwal A. Fatty acid transduction of nitric oxide signaling: nitrolinoleic acid potently activates endothelial heme oxygenase 1 expression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Mar 14;103(11):4299-304.  16537525 
Sikorski EM, Uo T, Morrison RS, Agarwal A.Pescadillo interacts with the cadmium response element of the human heme oxygenase-1 promoter in renal epithelial cells. 1: J Biol Chem. 2006:281(34):24423-30.  16816389 
Kirkby K, Baylis C, Agarwal A, Croker B, Archer L, Adin C. Intravenous bilirubin provides incomplete protection against renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in vivo. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2007 Feb;292(2):F888-94.   17032942 
Hock TD, Liby K, Wright MM, McConnell S, Schorpp-Kistner M, Ryan TM, Agarwal A. JunB and JunD regulate human heme oxygenase-1 gene expression in renal epithelial cells. J Biol Chem. 2007 Mar 2;282(9):6875-86.   17204476 
Cui T, Schopfer FJ, Zhang J, Chen K, Ichikawa T, Baker PR, Batthyany C, Chacko BK, Feng X, Patel RP, Agarwal A, Freeman BA, Chen YE. Nitrated fatty acids: Endogenous anti-inflammatory signaling mediators. J Biol Chem. 2006 Nov 24;281(47):35686-98.  17339405 
Deshane J, Chen S, Caballero S, Grochot-Przeczek A, Was H, Li Calzi S, Lach R, Hock TD, Chen B, Hill-Kapturczak N, Siegal GP, Dulak J, Jozkowicz A, Grant MB, Agarwal A. Stromal cell-derived factor 1 promotes angiogenesis via a heme oxygenase 1-dependent mechanism. J Exp Med. 2007 Mar 5; 204(3):605-18.   17339405 
Orozco LD, Kapturczak MH, Barajas B, Wang X, Weinstein MM, Wong J, Deshane J, Bolisetty S, Shaposhnik Z, Shih DM, Agarwal A, Lusis AJ, Araujo JA. Heme oxygenase-1 expression in macrophages plays a beneficial role in atherosclerosis. Circ Res. 2007;100(12):1703-11.  17495224  
Curtis LM, Agarwal A. HOpe for contrast-induced acute kidney injury. Kidney Int. 2007;72(8):907-9.   17914415 
Dulak J, Deshane J, Jozkowicz A, Agarwal A. Heme oxygenase-1 and carbon monoxide in vascular pathobiology: focus on angiogenesis. Circulation. 2008;117(2):231-41.   18195184 
Kumar A, Deshane JS, Crossman DK, Bolisetty S, Yan BS, Kramnik I, Agarwal A, Steyn AJ. Heme Oxygenase-1-derived Carbon Monoxide Induces the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Dormancy Regulon. J Biol Chem. 2008 Jun 27;283(26):18032-18039.  18400743 
Curtis LM, Chen S, Chen B, Agarwal A, Klug CA, Sanders PW.
Contribution of intrarenal cells to cellular repair after acute kidney injury: subcapsular implantation technique. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2008 Jul;295(1):F310-4.  
18448588 
Kie JH, Kapturczak MH, Traylor A, Agarwal A, Hill-Kapturczak N. Heme Oxygenase-1 Deficiency Promotes Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Renal Fibrosis. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2008 Sep;19(9):1681-91.  18495963 
George JF, Braun A, Brusko TM, Joseph R, Bolisetty S, Wasserfall CH, Atkinson MA, Agarwal A, Kapturczak MH. Suppression by CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells is dependent on expression of heme oxygenase-1 in antigen-presenting cells. Am J Pathol. 2008 Jul;173(1):154-60.   18511516 
Li Calzi S, Purich DL, Chang KH, Afzal A, Nakagawa T, Busik JV, Agarwal A, Segal MS, Grant MB. Carbon monoxide and nitric oxide mediate cytoskeletal reorganization in microvascular cells via vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein phosphorylation: evidence for blunted responsiveness in diabetes. Diabetes. 2008;57(9):2488-94.   18559661 
Mu W, Long DA, Ouyang X, Agarwal A, Cruz PE, Roncal CA, Nakagawa T, Yu X, Hauswirth WW, Johnson RJ. Angiostatin overexpression is associated with an improvement in chronic kidney injury by an anti-inflammatory mechanism. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2009 Jan;296(1):F145-52.  18971211 
Iles KE, Wright MM, Cole MP, Welty NE, Ware LB, Matthay MA, Schopfer FJ, Baker PR, Agarwal A, Freeman BA. Fatty acid transduction of nitric oxide signaling: nitrolinoleic acid mediates protective effects through regulation of the ERK pathway. Free Radic Biol Med. 2008 Dec 14. [Epub ahead of print]  19133325 
Jarmi T, Agarwal A. Heme oxygenase and renal disease. Curr Hypertens Rep. 2009 Feb;11(1):56-62.  19146802 
Ricart KC, Bolisetty S, Johnson MS, Perez J, Agarwal A, Murphy MP, Landar A. The permissive role of mitochondria in the induction of haem oxygenase-1 in endothelial cells. Biochem J. 2009 Apr 15;419(2):427-36.  19161347 
Zarjou A, Jeney V, Arosio P, Poli M, Antal-Szalmás P, Agarwal A, Balla G, Balla J. Ferritin prevents calcification and osteoblastic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2009 Jun;20(6):1254-63.  19423691 
Chen B, Guo L, Fan C, Bolisetty S, Joseph R, Wright MM, Agarwal A, George JF. Carbon Monoxide Rescues Heme Oxygenase-1-Deficient Mice from Arterial Thrombosis in Allogeneic Aortic Transplantation. Am J Pathol. 2009 Jul;175(1):422-9. Epub 2009 Jun 4.  19498004 
Wright MM, Kim J, Hock TD, Leitinger N, Freeman BA, Agarwal A. Human heme oxygenase-1 induction by nitro-linoleic acid is mediated by cyclic AMP, AP-1, and E-box response element interactions. Biochem J. 2009; Aug 13;422(2):353-61.  19534727 
Cole MP, Rudolph TK, Khoo NK, Motanya UN, Golin-Bisello F, Wertz JW, Schopfer FJ, Rudolph V, Woodcock SR, Bolisetty S, Ali MS, Zhang J, Chen YE, Agarwal A, Freeman BA, Bauer PM. Nitro-fatty acid inhibition of neointima formation after endoluminal vessel injury. Circ Res. 2009 Nov 6;105(10):965-72. Epub 2009 Sep 24.  19797175 
Diers AR, Higdon AN, Ricart KC, Johnson MS, Agarwal A, Kalyanaraman B, Landar A, Darley-Usmar VM. Mitochondrial targeting of the electrophilic lipid 15-deoxy-Delta12,14-prostaglandin J2 increases apoptotic efficacy via redox cell signalling mechanisms. Biochem J. 2010 Jan 27;426(1):31-41.  19916962 
Deshane J, Kim J, Bolisetty S, Hock TD, Hill-Kapturczak N, Agarwal A. Sp1 regulates chromatin looping between an intronic enhancer and distal promoter of the human heme oxygenase-1 gene in renal cells. J Biol Chem. 2010;May 28;285(22):16476-86.  20351094 
Park DJ, Agarwal A, George JF. Heme Oxygenase-1 Expression in Murine Dendritic Cell Subpopulations. Effect on CD8+ Dendritic Cell Differentiation in Vivo. Am J Pathol. 2010 Apr 15. [Epub ahead of print]  20395442 
Bolisetty S, Traylor AM, Kim J, Joseph R, Ricart K, Landar A, Agarwal A. Heme oxygenase-1 inhibits renal tubular macroautophagy in acute kidney injury. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2010 Oct;21(10):1702-12. Epub 2010 Aug 12.  20705711 
Chacko BK, Reily C, Srivastava A, Johnson MS, Ye Y, Ulasova E, Agarwal A, Zinn KR, Murphy MP, Kalyanaraman B, Darley-Usmar V. Prevention of diabetic nephropathy in Ins2(+/)⁻(AkitaJ) mice by the mitochondria-targeted therapy MitoQ. Biochem J. 2010 Oct 25;432(1):9-19.  20825366 

Keywords
heme oxygenase, acute kidney injury, transplant nephrology, lymphangiogenesis