Biography

Dr. Jie Xu holds the position of professor and serves as the principal investigator at the TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences within Wuhan University. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Nanjing University and completed his doctoral studies in biochemistry and neuroscience at both Nanjing University and Harvard Medical School affiliated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Following the successful completion of his doctoral studies, Dr. Xu pursued postdoctoral training in the field of neuroscience, first at Tufts University's Department of Neuroscience and later as an instructor in the Endocrinology Department of Harvard Medical School affiliated with Boston Children's Hospital.

Dr. Xu's sustained research interests revolve around the central nervous system's pivotal role in regulating metabolism. He utilizes advanced neurobiological techniques and a comprehensive set of biological tools, to delve into the intricacies of how hypothalamic neurons perceive metabolic molecules. His research endeavors are meticulously directed towards precisely unraveling the mechanisms by which the central nervous system governs the body's metabolism under both normal physiological conditions and during pathological states.

At the heart of Jie Xu's research lies the core objective of delivering a comprehensive understanding of the neural regulatory mechanisms that underlie pathological conditions, including but not limited to obesity, diabetes, anorexia, and cachexia. His pioneering work holds the promise of bringing about significant improvements in the treatment of metabolic diseases, offering hope and tangible advancements in this critical area of medical research.

Research

Metabolism is a fundamental characteristic that sustains the survival of living organisms. Metabolic regulation is a crucial process through which an organism maintains internal precision and stability by responding to external signals. Disruptions in metabolic regulation can lead to the onset of various metabolic disorders, such as obesity and diabetes. In recent years, as metabolic research has advanced, the central nervous system has been discovered to play a vital role in the regulation of metabolism. Our research team employs a range of neurobiological research techniques, including Optogenetics, Pharmacogenetics, Fiber photometry, Miniscope Imaging, and Patch-Clamp methods. We combine these with research approaches involving gene editing, viral tools, and metabolomics. Utilizing a variety of transgenic mouse models, we progressively elucidate, from physiological, cellular, and molecular perspectives, how the hypothalamic neural system perceives multiple metabolic molecules and the mechanisms by which it regulates metabolism under various physiological and pathological conditions. Our primary research avenues include, but not limited to:

1) Unraveling the molecular underpinnings of leptin resistance

2) Functionally dissecting feeding signals in the contexts of obesity and anorexia

3) Investigating the central regulatory mechanisms of cachexia

4) Delving into the central regulation of glucose homeostasis

Representative  Publications

1.Jie Xu^#, Bartolome CL^#, Low CS, Yi X, Chien CH, Wang P, Kong D*. “Genetic identification of leptin neural circuits in energy and glucose homeostasis” Nature. 2018, 556(7702):505-509. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0049-7

2. Jie Xu^#, Chen Q^#, Zen K, Zhang C, Zhang Q^*. “Synaptosomes secrete and uptake functionally active microRNAs via exocytosis and endocytosis pathways” J Neurochem 2013, 124(1): 15-25.doi:10.1111/jnc.12057.

3. Jie Xu^#, Xi Chen, Donghai Li, Qun Chen, Zhen Zhou, Dongxia Hou, Jin Wang, Qipeng Zhang*, Ke Zen*, Chen-Yu Zhang*. “Small RNA existed in commercial reverse transcriptase: primary evidence of functional small RNAs” Protein & Cell 2014, 6(1): 1–5.

4. Q Chen^#, Jie Xu^#, L Li, H Li, S Mao, F Zhang, K Zen, CY Zhang, Q Zhang^* “MicroRNA-23a/b and microRNA-27a/b suppress Apaf-1 protein and alleviate hypoxia-induced neuronal apoptosis” Cell Death Dis 2014, 5(3), e1132. doi:10.1038/cddis.2014.92.

5. Zhang Q^#, Jie Xu^#, Chen Q, Chen X, Zen K, Zhang CY*. “Selective secretion of microRNA in CNS system” Protein & Cell 2014, 4(4):243-7. doi:10.1007/s13238-013-3006-0

6. Pan F^#, Jie Xu^#, Zhang Q, Qiu X, Yu W, Jiadong Xia, Taowei Chen, Lianjun Pan, Yun Chen, Yutian Dai* “Identification and characterization of the MicroRNA profile in aging rats with erectile dysfunction” J Sex Med 2014, 11(7):1646-56. doi:10.1111/jsm.12500.

7. Chen Q#, Zhang F^#, Dong L^#, Wu H^#, Jie Xu^#, Li H^#, Wang J, Zhou Z, Liu C, Wang Y, Liu Y, Lu L, Wang C, Liu M, Chen X, Wang C, Zhang C, Li D, Zen K, Wang F^*, Zhang Q^*, Zhang CY^*. “SIDT1dependent absorption in the stomach mediates host uptake of dietary and orally administered microRNAs” Cell Res. 2020, doi:10.1038/s41422-020-0389-3.

8. Henning Fenselau^#, John N Campbell^#, Anne MJ Verstegen^#, Joseph C Madara, Jie Xu, Bhavik P Shah, Jon M Resch, Zongfang Yang, Yael Mandelblat-Cerf, Yoav Livneh, Bradford B Lowell^* “A rapidly acting glutamatergic ARC→PVH satiety circuit postsynaptically regulated by αMSH” Nature Neuroscience 2017, 42–51, doi:10.1038/nn.4442

9. Jais A^#, Paeger L, Sotelo-Hitschfeld T, Bremser S, Prinzensteiner M, Klemm P, Mykytiuk V, Widdershooven PJM, Vesting AJ, Grzelka K, Minère M, Cremer AL, Jie Xu, Korotkova T, Lowell BB, Zeilhofer HU, Backes H, Fenselau H, Wunderlich FT, Kloppenburg P, Brüning JC^*. “PNOCARC Neurons Promote Hyperphagia and Obesity upon High-Fat-Diet Feeding” Neuron. 2020, 106(6):1009-1025.e10. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2020.03.022

10. Dheeraj S Roy#, Ying Zhang, Tomomi Aida, Soonwook Choi, Qian Chen, Yuanyuan Hou, Nicholas E Lea, Keith M Skaggs, Juliana C Quay, Min Liew, Hannah Maisano, Vinh Le, Carter Jones, Jie Xu, Dong Kong, Heather A Sullivan, Arpiar Saunders, Steven A McCarroll, Ian R Wickersham, Guoping Feng^* “Anterior thalamic dysfunction underlies cognitive deficits in a subset of neuropsychiatric disease models” Neuron 2021, 109 (16), 2590-2603. e13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2021.06.005