Introduction to Dr Yihua An

Dr. Yihua An is the Chief Technical Officer of Inheritor Cell Technology USA (ICT U.S.) Inc., a Chinese company that is establishing operations in the United States. Dr. An is the leading researcher in China in the field of stem cell therapies to treat neurological conditions, mostly using neural stem cells and umbilical cord MSC. This article serves as a biography and introduction to Dr. An for western audiences.

In addition to his leadership role with ICT U.S., Dr. An is currently: Chief of the Cell Transplantation Department in the General Hospital of Chinese People's Armed Police Forces, Deputy Director of the Regenerative Medicine and Rehabilitation Professional Committee of the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine, and Professor at the Capital Medical University of China and the Fourth Military Medical University of China.

Dr. An was mentored by two of the pioneers and leaders in the field of neurosurgery, Professor Kilsoo Choi from South Korea and Professor Wang Zhongcheng from China. During his postdoctoral work, Dr. An successfully took the lead in primate experiments which treated intracerebral hemorrhage with neural stem cell transplantation.

Dr. An was a leader in bringing stem cell transplantation to clinics in China. The Cell Transplantation Department in the General Hospital of Chinese People's Armed Police Forces (hereinafter referred to as the Department), was founded by Dr. An in 2004. When the department was established, there were only two doctors and two patient beds. The Department has been developed and expanded rapidly in the last 13 years. Now, there are 11 doctors in the Department.

Following Dr. An’s success in the treatment of primate brain injury with stem cell transplantation, since 2004 Chinese clinics have used stem cell transplantation to treat patients suffering from the sequelae of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage, cerebral ischemia, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and cerebral palsy. The Department has also made breakthroughs in the treatment of other diseases of the central nervous system as well as diabetes, liver cirrhosis, and other diseases by means of stem cell transplantation. In addition to Chinese patients, international patients have come to the Department from more than 30 countries.

As of December 2015, Dr. An and his team have treated more than 10,000 patients.

• Dr. An has published more than 80 research papers, including 29 articles in Science Citation Index (SCI) journals. The list below this article only displays the 31 publications in English.
• Since 2011, Dr. An has registered 27 clinical trials, 7 on the United States registry ClinicalTrials.gov and 20 on the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry (ChiCTR). These are listed in a table below this article.
• Dr. An’s team has registered the world’s first phase 3 trials in ClinicalTrials.gov for stem cell therapy of cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury.
• Dr. An holds 6 Chinese patents related to the preparation and delivery of stem cells for the treatment of brain injury and has another 7 patent applications under review.
• Dr. An sits on the board of 4 publications and is an expert evaluator to the Science Foundation of China for proposals on the topic of central nervous system injury repair.
• Dr. An is currently the lead investigator on 15 medical research projects that treat conditions including intra-cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction, spinal cord injury, delayed brain injury after hypothermic brain protection, and the joint application of neural stem cells and tissue engineering to repair neurological impairment.
• Dr. An, as lead investigator, has won more than 16 research grants, with total funds awarded over RMB 10 million.
• Dr. An has appeared on CCTV  and in the press more than 13 times in China, bringing the science of stem cell therapies to the people of the republic.

Dr. An and his team step into the world’s leading level in the field of stem cell transplantation clinical research. Pending visa approval, Dr. An will be visiting the United Sates to attend the Perinatal Stem Cell Society annual meeting in Salt Lake City dated 1-2 March 2018.

Publications by Yihua An, in English

1. Li LS, Yu H, Raynald R, Wang XD, Dai GH, Cheng HB, Liu XB, An Y (corresponding author). Anatomical mechanism of spontaneous recovery in regions caudal to thoracic spinal cord injury lesions in rats. Peer J. 2017, 5: e2865. (IF: 2.183)
2. Yu H, Li L, Liu R, Shu B, Chen H, Huang H, Hua R, Jiang F, An Y (corresponding author). Autophagy in long propriospinal neurons is activated after spinal cord injury in adult rats. Neurosci Lett. 2016 Oct 12; 634:138-145. (IF: 2.107)
3. Hua RR, Li P, Wang XD, Yang J, Zheng P, Niu XX, Li Y and An Y (corresponding author). Evaluation of Somatosensory Evoked Potential and Pain Rating Index in a Patient with Spinal Cord Injury Accepted Cell Therapy. Pain Physician. 2016, 19: E659-E666. (IF: 3.407)
4. Raynald, Li Y, Yu H, Huang H, Guo M, Hua R, Jiang F, Zhang K, Li H, Wang F, Li L, Cui F, An Y (corresponding author). The hetero-transplantation of human bone marrow stromal cells carried by hydrogel unexpectedly demonstrates a significant role in the functional recovery in the injured spinal cord of rats. Brain Res. 2016 Mar 1; 1634:21-33. (IF: 2.8)
5. Wang X, Hu H, Hua R, Yang J, Zheng P, Niu X, Cheng H, Dai G, Liu X, Zhang Z, An Y (corresponding author). Effect of umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells on motor functions of identical twins with cerebral palsy: pilot study on the correlation of efficacy and hereditary factors. Cytotherapy. 2015,17(2):224-31. (IF: 3.10)
6. Wang F, Zhang KH, Hu HM, Liu XB, Bai HR, Jiang F, Wang XD, An Y (corresponding author). Alternatively, activated microglia co-cultured with BMSCS offers a new strategy in the treatment of CNS-associated disease.  Cell Biol Int. 2015,39(3):341-9. (IF: 1.64)
7. Cheng H, Liu X, Hua R, Dai G, Wang X, Gao J, An Y (corresponding author). Clinical observation of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in treatment for sequelae of thoracolumbar spinal cord injury. J Transl Med. 2014,12(1):253. (IF: 3.99)
8. Liu X, Zheng P, Wang X, Dai G, Cheng H, Zhang Z, Hua R, Niu X, Shi J, An Y (corresponding author). A preliminary evaluation of efficacy and safety of Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.  Stem Cell Res Ther. 2014,5(2):57. (IF: 4.63)
9. Li HL, Zhang H, Huang H, Liu ZQ, Li YB, Yu H, An Y (corresponding author). The effect of amino density on the attachment, migration, and differentiation of rat neural stem cells In Vitro. Mol Cells. 2013, 35(5): 436-43. (IF：2.21)
10. Dai G, Liu X, Zhang Z, Wang X, Li M, Cheng H, Hua R, Shi J, Wang R, Qin C, Gao J, An Y (corresponding author). Comparative analysis of curative effect of CT-guided stem cell transplantation and open surgical transplantation for sequelae of spinal cord injury. J Transl Med. 2013,11:315. (IF: 3.46)
11. Xiaodong Wang, Hongbin Cheng, Rongrong Hua, Jing Yang, Min Li, Guanghui Dai, Zan Zhang, Renzhi Wang, Chuan Qin, Yihua An (corresponding author)）. Effects of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells on the Gross Motor Function Measure Scores of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Preliminary Clinical Study. Cytotherapy.2013, 15(12): 1549-62. (IF：3.06)
12. Wang S, Cheng H, Dai G, Wang X, Hua R, Liu X, Wang P, Chen G, Yue W, An Y (corresponding author). Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell transplantation significantly improves neurological function in patients with sequelae of traumatic brain injury. Brain Res. 2013, 1532:76-84. (IF：2.88)
13. R Hua, J Shi, X Wang, J Yang, P Zheng, H Cheng, M Li, G Dai and Y An (corresponding author). Analysis of the causes and types of traumatic spinal cord injury based on 561 cases in China from 2001 to 2010. Spinal cord. 2013, 51:218–21. (IF：1.90)
14. Min Li, Aixue Yu, Fangfang Zhang, Hongbin Cheng, Xiaodong Wang, Yihua An (corresponding author). Treatment of one case of cerebral palsy combined with posterior visual pathway injury using autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.Journal of Translational Medicine. 2012, 10:100. (IF：3.51)
15. Bao X, Feng M, Wei J, Han Q, Zhao H, Li G, Zhu Z, Xing H, An YH, Qin C, Zhao RC, Wang R. Transplantation of Flk-1+ human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells promote angiogenesis and neurogenesis after cerebral ischemia in rats. European Journal of Neuroscience. 2011,34(1): 87-98. (IF：3.66)
16. Feng M, Zhu H, Zhu Z, Wei J, Lu S, Li Q, Zhang N, Li G, Li F, Ma W, An YH, Zhao RC, Qin C, Wang R. Serial 18F-FDG PET Demonstrates Benefit of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Treatment of Intracerebral Hematoma: A Translational Study in a Primate Model. J Nucl Med. 2011, 52(1):90–7. (IF:7.02)
17. Bao X, Wei J, Feng M, Lu S, Li G, Dou W, Ma W, Ma S, An Y, Qin C, Zhao RC, Wang R. Transplantation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells promotes behavioral recovery and endogenous neurogenesis after cerebral ischemia in rats.  Brain Research. 2011, 1367:103-13. (IF:2.62)
18. Li J, Zhu H, Liu Y, Li Q, Lu S, Feng M, Xu Y, Huang L, Ma C, An Y (corresponding author), Zhao RC, Wang R, Qin C. Human mesenchymal stem cell transplantation protects against cerebral ischemic injury and upregulates interleukin-10 expression in Macaca fascicularis. Brain Research. 2010, 1334:65-72. (IF:2.62)
19. Sun C, Zhang H, Li J, Huang H, Cheng H, Wang Y, Li P, An Y (corresponding author). Modulation of the major histocompatibility complex by neural stem cell-derived neurotrophic factors used for regenerative therapy in a rat model of stroke. J Transl Med. 2010,20:8:77. (IF:3.51)
20. Ren YJ, Zhang H, Huang H, Wang XM, Zhou ZY, Cui FZ, An Y (corresponding author). In vitro behavior of neural stem cells in response to different chemical functional groups. Biomaterials. 2009, 30(6): 1036-44. (IF:7.37)
21. Zhang H, Wei YT, Tsang KS, Sun CR, Li J, Huang H, Cui FZ, An Y (corresponding author). Implantation of neural stem cells embedded in hyaluronic acid and collagen composite conduit promotes regeneration in a rabbit facial nerve injury model. J Transl Med. 2008, 6:67. (IF:2.92)
22. Li J, Sun CR, Zhang H, Tsang KS, Li JH, Zhang SD, An Y (corresponding author). Induction of functional recovery by co-transplantation of neural stem cells and Schwann cells in a rat spinal cord contusion injury model. Biomed Environ Sci. 2007, 20(3): 242-249. (IF:0.56)
23. Sun CR, Wang CC, Tsang KS, Li J, Zhang H, An Y (corresponding author). Modulation and impact of class I major histocompatibility complex by neural stem cell-derived neurotrophins on neuroregeneration. Med Hypotheses. 2007, 68(1): 176-9. (IF:1.30)
24. An Y, Tsang KS, Zhang H. Potential of stem cell-based therapy and tissue engineering in the regeneration of central nervous system. Biomed. Mater. 2006, 1: R38-R44. (IF:1.01)
25. An Y (corresponding author), Wang HY, Gao ZX, Wang ZC. Differentiation of rat neural stem cells and its relationship with environment. Biomed. Environ. Sci. 2004, 17(1): 1-7. (IF:1.01)
26. An Y, Wang HY, Wang CC. Neural stem cells transplantation improved the neurological function of cerebral ischemic rat. J Neurochemistry. 2004, 88: Supple 1. conference paper. (IF:4.337)
27. An Y (corresponding author), Wan H, Zhang ZS, Wang HY, Gao ZX, Sun MZ, Wang ZC. Effect of rat Schwann cell secretion on proliferation and differentiation of human neural stem cells. Biomed. Environ. Sci. 2003, 16: 90-94. (IF:0.61)
28. Wan H, An Y, Sun MZ, Zhang YZ, Wang ZC. Schwann cells transplantation and the repair of brain stem injury in rats. Biomed. Environ. Sci. 2003, 16(3): 212-8. (IF:0.61)
29. Wan H, An Y, Zhang Z, Zhang Y, Wang Z. Differentiation of rat embryonic neural stem cells promoted by co-cultured Schwann cells. Chin Med J. 2003, 116(3): 428-31. (IF:0.39)
30. An Y, Liu E, Liu X, Yang F, Han F, Dai Q. Protective Effect of Melatonin on Neural Cells Against the Cytotoxicity of Oxyradicals. Chin Med Sci J. 2000, 15(1): 40-4.
31. An Y, Kim YK, Kim SS, Suh YH. Research on the Molecular Biological Mechanism of Melatonin to Inhibit Neural Cell Apoptosis.  J Neurochemistry. 1998, 70: Supple 2, S52.