Xuezhao Liu
Ph.D., Principal Investigator.
Email: liuxuezhao@@gdiist.cn
Personal Profile
Xuezhao Liu earned his Ph.D. from the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2015. From July 2017 to January 2025, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in the United States. In 2025, he joined Guangdong Institute of Intelligent Science and Technology and worked as a principal investigator and lab head. His representative research achievements have been published as the first author and co-first author in top international journals such as "Cell," "Nature Neuroscience," and "Journal of Cell Biology."
Laboratory of Cognition and Myelin Development
Our lab focuses on the critical role of myelin in the central nervous system (CNS). In the intricate network of the central nervous system, myelin, a functional sheath structure constructed by oligodendrocytes (OLs), serves as the core foundation for the efficient operation of the nervous system. This myelin layer, composed of lipids and proteins, not only enhances the conduction velocity of neural signals by tens of times through its insulating effect but also optimizes the resource utilization efficiency of neurons via energy metabolism regulatory mechanisms, making it a key link in maintaining the dynamic balance of neural networks.
Abnormal myelin development or damage is closely associated with the occurrence and progression of neurodevelopmental disorders, cognitive impairments, and neurodegenerative diseases. Recent studies have shown that myelin cells also provide nutritional support for the long-term survival and functional maintenance of axons by secreting neurotrophic factors, metabolic substrates, and other means, extending their role to the research of neural network plasticity regulation and the basic mechanisms of brain cognitive functions.
Based on the above scientific findings, our research group starts from experimental animal models, focuses on the regulatory mechanisms of myelination in neural networks, and systematically analyzes the regulatory rules of myelin formation on the information transmission efficiency of neural circuits through multi-scale imaging technologies (light microscopy-electron microscopy correlative imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging), single-cell transcriptome analysis, organoid models, and combined with cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry, and other approaches. The research goal is to reveal the molecular network of interactions among myelin, neurons, and glial cells, providing new theoretical foundations for intervention strategies for neurodevelopmental diseases and cognitive function remodeling.
Selected publications
1. Liu X*, Xin E*, Zhong X*, Zhao C*, Li Z, Zhang L, Dourson A, Lee L, Mishra S, Bayat A, Nicholson E, Seibel W, Yan B , Mason J, Turner B , Gonsalvez D, Ong W, Chew S, Ghosh B, Yoon S , Xin M, He Z, Tchieu J, Wegner M, Nave K, Franklin R, Dutta R, Trapp B, Hu M, Smith M, Jankowski M, Barton S, He X, and Lu Q.(2024) Small-molecule-induced epigenetic rejuvenation promotes SREBP condensation and overcomes barriers to CNS myelin regeneration. Cell. Apr 25: S0092-8674(24)00400-8. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.04.005
2. Huang G*, Li Z*, Liu X* (Co-first author), Guan M, Zhou S, Zhong X, Zheng T, Xin D, Guo X, Mu D, Guo Y, Zhang L, Zhang L, Lu Q, and He X. (2024) DOR activation in mature oligodendrocytes regulates α-ketoglutarate metabolism leading to enhanced remyelination in aged mice. Nat Neurosci. 2024 Sep 12. doi: 10.1038/s41593-024-01754-9.
3. Liu X*, Li Y*, Wang X, Xing R, Liu K, Gan Q, Tang C, Gao Z, Jian Y, Luo S, Guo W, Yang C. (2017). The BEACH-containing protein WDR81 coordinates p62 and LC3C to promote aggrephagy. J Cell Biol. 2017 Apr 12. pii: jcb.201608039. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201608039
4. Wang J, Yang L, Du Y, Wang J, Weng Q, Liu X, Nicholson E, Xin M and Lu Q. (2024) BRG1 programs PRC2-complex repression and controls oligodendrocyte differentiation and remyelination. J Cell Biol. 2024;223(7): e202310143. doi:10.1083/jcb.202310143
5. Hu X*, Wu X*, Berry K, Zhao C, Xin D, Ogurek S, Liu X, Zhang L, Luo Z, Sakabe M, Trubicka J, Łastowska M, Szulzewsky F, Holland EC, Lee L, Hu M, Xin M, Lu QR. (2023) Nuclear condensates of YAP fusion proteins alter transcription to drive ependymoma tumourigenesis. Nat Cell Biol. 2023 Feb;25(2):323-336. doi:10.1038/s41556-022-01069-6.
6. Luo Z*, Xia M*, Shi W*, Zhao C*, Wang J*, Xin D, Dong X, Xiong Y, Zhang F, Berry K, Ogurek S, Liu X, Rao R, Xing R, Wu LMN, Cui S, Xu L, Lin Y, Ma W, Tian S, Xie Q, Zhang L, Xin M, Wang X, Yue F, Zheng H, Liu Y, Stevenson CB, de Blank P, Perentesis JP, Gilbertson RJ, Li H, Ma J, Zhou W, Taylor MD, Lu QR. (2022) Human fetal cerebellar cell atlas informs medulloblastoma origin and oncogenesis. Nature. 2022 Dec;612(7941):787-794. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05487-2.
7. Wang J, Yang L, Jiang M, Zhao C, Liu X, Berry K, Waisman A, Langseth AJ, Novitch BG, Bergles DE, Nishiyama A, Lu QR. (2022) Olig2 Ablation in Immature Oligodendrocytes Does Not Enhance CNS Myelination and Remyelination. J Neurosci. 2022 Nov 9;42(45):8542-8555. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0237-22.2022.
8. Wu LMN, Zhang F, Rao R, Adam M, Pollard K, Szabo S, Liu X, Belcher KA, Luo Z, Ogurek S, Reilly C, Zhou X, Zhang L, Rubin J, Chang LS, Xin M, Yu J, Suva M, Pratilas CA, Potter S, Lu QR. (2022) Single-cell multiomics identifies clinically relevant mesenchymal stem-like cells and key regulators for MPNST malignancy. Sci Adv. 2022 Nov 4;8(44): eabo5442. doi: 10.1126/sciadv. abo5442.
9. Wang M *, Tang C *, Xing R, Liu X, Han X, Liu Y, Wang L, Yang C, and Guo W. (2021). WDR81 regulates adult hippocampal neurogenesis through endosomal SARA-TGFbeta signaling. Molecular psychiatry 26, 694-709. doi: 10.1038/s41380-018-0307-y.
10. Zhang L *, He X *, Liu X, Zhang F, Huang L.F, Potter A.S, Xu L, Zhou W, Zheng T, Luo Z, Berry KP, Pribnow A, Smith SM, Fuller C, Jones BV, Fouladi M, Drissi R, Yang ZJ, Gustafson WC, Remke M, Pomeroy SL, Girard EJ, Olson JM, Morrissy AS, Vladoiu MC, Zhang J, Tian W, Xin M, Taylor MD, Potter SS, Roussel MF, Weiss WA, Lu QR. (2019). Single-Cell Transcriptomics in Medulloblastoma Reveals Tumor-Initiating Progenitors and Oncogenic Cascades during Tumorigenesis and Relapse. Cancer cell 36, 302-318 e307. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2019.07.009
11. He X*, Zhang L*, Queme LF, Liu X, Lu A, Waclaw RR, Dong X, Zhou W, Kidd G, Yoon SO, Buonanno A, Rubin JB, Xin M, Nave KA, Trapp BD, Jankowski MP, Lu QR.(2018) A histone deacetylase 3-dependent pathway delimits peripheral myelin growth and functional regeneration. Nat Med. 2018 Mar;24(3):338-351. doi: 10.1038/nm.4483.
12. Li Y, Zhang Y, Gan Q, Xu M, Ding X, Tang G, Liang J, Liu K, Liu X, Wang X, Guo L, Gao Z, Hao X, & Yang C. (2018). C. elegans-based screen identifies lysosome-damaging alkaloids that induce STAT3-dependent lysosomal cell death. Protein & cell 9, 1013-1026. doi: 10.1007/s13238-018-0520-0.
13. Liu K*, Jian Y*, Sun X*, Yang C, Gao Z, Zhang Z, Liu X, Li Y, Xu J, Jing Y, Mitani S, He S, Yang C. (2016) Negative regulation of phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate levels in early-to-late endosome conversion. J. Cell Biol.212(2):181-98. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201506081.
14. Li Y*, Xu M*, Ding X, Song Z, Huang X, Jian Y, Tang G, Yan C, Di Y, Liu X, Liu K, Li T, Wang Y, Guo W, Hao X, Yang C.(2016). Protein kinase C is a master switch of lysosome biogenesis independent of mTORC1. Nat Cell Biol. 2016 Oct;18(10):1065-77. doi: 10.1038/ncb3407.
15. Chen D *, Jian Y *, Liu X, Zhang Y, Liang J, Qi X, Du H, Zou W, Chen L, Chai Y, Ou G, Miao L, Wang Y & Yang C. (2013). Clathrin and AP2 Are Required for Phagocytic Receptor-Mediated Apoptotic Cell Clearance in Caenorhabditis elegans. PLOS Genetics, 9(5): e1003517. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003517.
