Elie El Agha, PhD
Adjunct Associate Professor
Education & Affiliations
Biography
The El Agha lab focuses on applying developmental paradigms to understand normal lung homeostasis and regeneration, particularly in regard to lung remodeling and reverse remodeling in response to pathogen-induced lung injury and repair. The scientific investigations involve the use of basic and translational approaches to interrogate key signaling pathways, growth factors and other signaling mediators that are also important for normal lung development.
Publications
1. Lingampally A, Truchi M, Mauduit O, Delcroix V, Vasquez-Pacheco E, Chu X, Khadim A, Chao C-M, Zabihi M, Taghizadeh S, Rivetti S, Marega M, Moiseenko A, Hadzic S, Vazquez-Armendariz AI, Herold S, Günther S, Millar-Büchner P, Koepke J, Samakovlis C, Wilhelm J, Bartkuhn M, Braun T, Weissmann N, Zhang JS, Wygrecka M, Makarenkova HP, Günther A, Seeger W, Chen C#, El Agha E#, Mari B#, Bellusci S#. Evidence for a lipofibroblast-to-Cthrc1+ myofibroblast reversible switch during the development and resolution of lung fibrosis in young mice. Eur Respir J. 2024, Accepted.
2. Chu X, Kheirollahi V, Lingampally A, Chelladurai P, Valasarajan C, Vazquez-Armendariz AI, Hadzic S, Khadim A, Pak O, Rivetti S, Wilhelm J, Bartkuhn M, Crnkovic S, Moiseenko A, Heiner M, Kraut S, Sotoodeh L, Koepke J, Valente G, Ruppert C, Braun T, Samakovlis C, Alexopoulos I, Looso M, Chao C-M, Herold S, Seeger W, Kwapiszewska G, Huang X, Zhang J-S, Pullamsetti SS, Weissmann N, Li X#, El Agha E#, Bellusci S#. GLI1+ cells contribute to vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension. Circ Res. 2024 May 24;134(11):e133-e149.
3. Chu X, Lingampally A, Moiseenko A, Kheirollahi V, Vazquez-Armendariz AI, Koepke J, Khadim A, Kiliaris G, Shahriari Felordi M, Zabihi M, Shalashova I, Alexopoulos I, Günther S, Lebrigand K, Truchi M, Günther A, Braun T, Mari B, Samakovlis C, Li X, Seeger W, Herold S, Zhang J-S, Bellusci S, El Agha E. GLI1+ cells are a source of repair-supportive mesenchymal cells (RSMCs) during airway epithelial regeneration. Cell Mol Life Sci. 79(11):581, 2022.
4. Chu X, Taghizadeh S, Vazquez-Armendariz AI, Herold S, Lei C, Chen C, Zhang J-S#, El Agha E#, Bellusci S#. Validation of a novel Fgf10Cre-ERT2 knock-in mouse line targeting FGF10Pos cells postnatally. Front Cell Dev Biol. 9:671841, 2021.
5. Moiseenko A, Vazquez-Armendariz AI, Kheirollahi V, Chu X, Tata A, Rivetti S, Günther S, Lebrigand K, Herold S, Braun T, Mari B, De Langhe S, Kwapiszewska G, Günther A, Chen C, Seeger W, Tata PR, Zhang J-S, Bellusci S, El Agha E. Identification of a repair-supportive mesenchymal cell (RSMC) population during airway epithelial regeneration. Cell Rep. 33(12):108549, 2020.
6. Kheirollahi V, Wasnick RM, Biasin V, Vazquez-Armendariz AI, Chu X, Moiseenko A, Weiss A, Wilhelm J, Zhang J-S, Kwapiszewska G, Herold S, Schermuly RT, Mari B, Li X, Seeger W, Günther A, Bellusci S, El Agha E. Metformin induces lipogenic differentiation in myofibroblasts to reverse lung fibrosis. Nat Commun. 10(1):2987, 2019.
7. El Agha E, Schwind F, Ruppert C, Günther A, Bellusci S, Schermuly RT, Kosanovic D. Is the fibroblast growth factor signaling pathway a victim of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibition in pulmonary parenchymal and vascular remodeling? Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2018 Aug 1;315(2):L248-L252. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00140.2018. Epub 2018 May 3.
8. Moiseenko A, Kheirollahi V, Chao CM, Ahmadvand N, Quantius J, Wilhelm J, Herold S, Ahlbrecht K, Morty RE, Rizvanov AA, Minoo P, El Agha E#, Bellusci S#. Origin and characterization of alpha smooth muscle actin-positive cells during murine lung development. Stem Cells 35(6):1566-1578, 2017.
9. El Agha E, Moiseenko A, Kheirollahi V, De Langhe S, Crnkovic S, Kwapiszewska G, Szibor M, Kosanovic D, Schwind F, Schermuly RT, Henneke I, MacKenzie B, Quantius J, Herold S, Ntokou A, Ahlbrecht K, Braun T, Morty RE, Günther A, Seeger W, Bellusci S. Two-way conversion between lipogenic and myogenic fibroblastic phenotypes marks the progression and resolution of lung fibrosis. Cell Stem Cell 20(2):261-273.e3, 2017.
10. El Agha E, Herold S, Al Alam D, Quantius J, MacKenzie B, Carraro G, Moiseenko A, Chao CM, Minoo P, Seeger W, Bellusci S. Fgf10-positive cells represent a progenitor cell population during lung development and postnatally. Development 141(2):296-306, 2014.
Selected Review Articles
1. El Agha E#, Thannickal VJ#. The lung mesenchyme in development, regeneration, and fibrosis. J Clin Invest. 133(14):e170505, 2023.
2. El Agha E#, Kramann R, Schneider RK, Li X, Seeger W, Humphreys BD, Bellusci S#. Mesenchymal stem cells in fibrotic disease. Cell Stem Cell 21(2):166-177, 2017.
3. El Agha E, Bellusci S. Walking along the Fibroblast Growth Factor 10 route: a key pathway to understand the control and regulation of epithelial and mesenchymal cell-lineage formation during lung development and repair after injury. Scientifica (Cairo) 2014:538379, 2014.
My lab focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating lung development, repair and regeneration, including the interaction between mesenchymal niche cells and epithelial stem and progenitor cells in the lung. My research particularly aims to understand how morphogenic programs driven by developmental signaling mechanisms are misguided to drive aberrant pulmonary parenchymal and vascular remodeling in the adult stage, and how such mechanisms can be alternatively tuned and harnessed to drive lung regeneration. The ultimate goal is to contribute to shaping novel therapeutic strategies to treat incurable lung diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
