Research Field

The team's research interests are RNA-binding proteins, membrane transporters regulate

1. The thermogenic function of brown and beige fat and their roles in the control of energy metabolism in obesity and diabetes, and

2. The hepatocyte function in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver and hepatitis.

Personal Introduction

Xuyun Zhao, researcher, PI. He has long been devoted to the study of the roles of long non-coding RNA and adipose secreted factors in the regulation of brown adipocyte differentiation, adipose tissue inflammation and hepatic lipid metabolism in the development of obesity and related metabolic diseases. To date, 19 research articles have been published in prestigious academic journals such as NATURE MEDICINE, MOLECULAR CELL, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, SCIENCE ADVANCES, and MOLECULAR METABOLISM.

Educational Experience

• Graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and obtained a bachelor's degree in 2006.

• Graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology and got a doctor's degree in 2011.

Work Experience

• 2011 to 2015, appointed as the postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan.

• 2015 to 2019, appointed as the research investigator at the University of Michigan.

• From 2019, appointed as the PI of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.

Scientific Research Projects

1.Project number: 82070894

• Project name: Zbtb7b orchestrates an adipose-immune axis in the control of insulin sensitivity and metabolic homeostasis in obesity and diabetes.

• Funding category: General Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China

• Starting and ending period: 2021.01-2024.12

• Research support: 570000

2.Project number: 21ZR1436500

• Project name: Zrsr1 regulates U12 intron splicing in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

• Funding category: General program of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality

• Starting and ending period: 2021.07-2024.06

• Research support: 200000

3.Project number: 22ZR1479800

• Project name: Cysteine persulfide metabolism mediates brown fat formation and thermogenesis.

• Funding category: Original exploration program of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality

• Starting and ending period: 2022.04-2025.03

• Research support: 500000

Publications

1. Zhao XY (corresponding author), Zhou L, Chen Z, Ji Y, Peng X, Qi L, Li S, Lin JD. The obesity-induced adipokine sST2 exacerbates adipose Treg and ILC2 depletion and promotes insulin resistance. Sci Adv. 2020 May 13;6(20):eaay6191. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aay6191. PMID: 32426492; PMCID: PMC7220368.

2. Liu T, Mi L, Xiong J, Orchard P, Yu Q, Yu L, Zhao XY, Meng ZX, Parker SCJ, Lin JD, Li S. BAF60a deficiency uncouples chromatin accessibility and cold sensitivity from white fat browning. Nat Commun. 2020 May 13;11(1):2379. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16148-1. PMID: 32404872; PMCID: PMC7221096.

3. Xiong X, Kuang H, Ansari S, Liu T, Gong J, Wang S, Zhao XY, Ji Y, Li C, Guo L, Zhou L, Chen Z, Leon-Mimila P, Chung MT, Kurabayashi K, Opp J, Campos-Pérez F, Villamil-Ramírez H, Canizales-Quinteros S, Lyons R, Lumeng CN, Zhou B, Qi L, Huertas-Vazquez A, Lusis AJ, Xu XZS, Li S, Yu Y, Li JZ, Lin JD. Landscape of Intercellular Crosstalk in Healthy and NASH Liver Revealed by Single-Cell Secretome Gene Analysis. Mol Cell. 2019 Aug 8;75(3):644-660.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2019.07.028. PMID: 31398325; PMCID: PMC7262680.

4. Zhao XY, Li S, DelProposto JL, Liu T, Mi L, Porsche C, Peng X, Lumeng CN, Lin JD. The long noncoding RNA Blnc1 orchestrates homeostatic adipose tissue remodeling to preserve metabolic health. Mol Metab. 2018 Aug;14:60-70. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2018.06.005. Epub 2018 Jun 8. PMID: 29934059; PMCID: PMC6034069.

5. Zhao XY, Xiong X, Liu T, Mi L, Peng X, Rui C, Guo L, Li S, Li X, Lin JD. Long noncoding RNA licensing of obesity-linked hepatic lipogenesis and NAFLD pathogenesis. Nat Commun. 2018 Jul 30;9(1):2986. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-05383-2. PMID: 30061575; PMCID: PMC6065308.

6. Chen Z, Wang GX, Ma SL, Jung DY, Ha H, Altamimi T, Zhao XY, Guo L, Zhang P, Hu CR, Cheng JX, Lopaschuk GD, Kim JK, Lin JD. Nrg4 promotes fuel oxidation and a healthy adipokine profile to ameliorate diet-induced metabolic disorders. Mol Metab. 2017 Jun 21;6(8):863-872. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2017.03.016. PMID: 28752050; PMCID: PMC5518721.

7. Li S, Mi L, Yu L, Yu Q, Liu T, Wang GX, Zhao XY, Wu J, Lin JD. Zbtb7b engages the long noncoding RNA Blnc1 to drive brown and beige fat development and thermogenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Aug 22;114(34):E7111-E7120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1703494114. Epub 2017 Aug 7. PMID: 28784777; PMCID: PMC5576792.

8. Mi L, Zhao XY, Li S, Yang G, Lin JD. Conserved function of the long noncoding RNA Blnc1 in brown adipocyte differentiation. Mol Metab. 2016 Nov 3;6(1):101-110. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2016.10.010. PMID: 28123941; PMCID: PMC5220282.

9. Wang GX, Zhao XY, Lin JD. The brown fat secretome: metabolic functions beyond thermogenesis. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2015 May;26(5):231-7. doi: 10.1016/j.tem.2015.03.002. Epub 2015 Apr 2. PMID: 25843910; PMCID: PMC4417028.

10. Shen SM, Guo M, Xiong Z, Yu Y,Zhao XY, Zhang FF, Chen GQ. AIF inhibits tumor metastasis by protecting PTEN from oxidation. EMBO Rep. 2015 Nov;16(11):1563-80. doi: 10.15252/embr.201540536. Epub 2015 Sep 28. PMID: 26415504; PMCID: PMC4641507.

11. Zhao XY, Lin JD. Long Noncoding RNAs: A New Regulatory Code in Metabolic Control. Trends Biochem Sci. 2015 Oct;40(10):586-596. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2015.08.002. PMID: 26410599; PMCID: PMC4584418.

12. Wang GX, Zhao XY (co-first author), Meng ZX, Kern M, Dietrich A, Chen Z, Cozacov Z, Zhou D, Okunade AL, Su X, Li S, Blüher M, Lin JD. The brown fat-enriched secreted factor Nrg4 preserves metabolic homeostasis through attenuation of hepatic lipogenesis. Nat Med. 2014 Dec;20(12):1436-1443. doi: 10.1038/nm.3713. Epub 2014 Nov 17. PMID: 25401691; PMCID: PMC4257907.

13. Zhao XY, Li S, Wang GX, Yu Q, Lin JD. A long noncoding RNA transcriptional regulatory circuit drives thermogenic adipocyte differentiation. Mol Cell. 2014 Aug 7;55(3):372-82. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2014.06.004. Epub 2014 Jul 4. PMID: 25002143; PMCID: PMC4127104.

14. Liu W, Shen SM, Zhao XY, Chen GQ. Targeted genes and interacting proteins of hypoxia inducible factor-1. Int J Biochem Mol Biol. 2012;3(2):165-78. Epub 2012 May 31. PMID: 22773957; PMCID: PMC3388736.

15. Huang Y, Hou JK, Chen TT, Zhao XY, Yan ZW, Zhang J, Yang J, Kogan SC, Chen GQ. PML-RARα enhances constitutive autophagic activity through inhibiting the Akt/mTOR pathway. Autophagy. 2011 Oct;7(10):1132-44. doi: 10.4161/auto.7.10.16636. Epub 2011 Oct 1. PMID: 21673516; PMCID: PMC3210306.

16. Zhao XY (co-first author), Zhao KW, Jiang Y, Zhao M, Chen GQ. Synergistic induction of galectin-1 by CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha and hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha and its role in differentiation of acute myeloid leukemic cells. J Biol Chem. 2011 Oct 21;286(42):36808-19. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M111.247262. Epub 2011 Aug 31. PMID: 21880716; PMCID: PMC3196150.

17. Zhao XY (co-first author), Chen TT, Xia L, Guo M, Xu Y, Yue F, Jiang Y, Chen GQ, Zhao KW. Hypoxia inducible factor-1 mediates expression of galectin-1: the potential role in migration/invasion of colorectal cancer cells. Carcinogenesis. 2010 Aug;31(8):1367-75. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgq116. Epub 2010 Jun 4. PMID: 20525878.

18. Zhao M, Duan XF, Zhao XY, Zhang B, Lu Y, Liu W, Cheng JK, Chen GQ. Protein kinase Cdelta stimulates proteasome-dependent degradation of C/EBPalpha during apoptosis induction of leukemic cells. PLoS One. 2009 Aug 7;4(8):e6552. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006552. PMID: 19662097; PMCID: PMC2719015.

19. Liao SH, Zhao XY (co-first author), Han YH, Zhang J, Wang LS, Xia L, Zhao KW, Zheng Y, Guo M, Chen GQ. Proteomics-based identification of two novel direct targets of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 and their potential roles in migration/invasion of cancer cells. Proteomics. 2009 Aug;9(15):3901-12. doi: 10.1002/pmic.200800922. PMID: 19637235.