Research
Astrocyte development and the roles of astrocytes in diseases
Appointments
- Assistant Professor
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior
Biography
Astrocytes constitute at least a third of all cells in human brains. Long thought to be passive support cells, astrocytes are recently found to be critical for the development and function of the central nervous system. Accumulating evidence show that astrocytes are involved in almost every type of neurological and psychiatric disorder.
The cellular and molecular mechanisms that control astrocyte development as well as dysfunction of astrocytes in neurological and psychiatric disorders remains poorly understood.
We combine cell culture and mouse genetic approaches to study the following questions:
- What signals regulate astrocyte maturation?
- How is astrocyte differentiation regulated?
- Can we improve treatment of glioblastoma by studying astrocyte development?
- Are astrocytes involved in intellectual disability and autism?
Publications
- Yuan, H, Luo, Z, Yang, J, Ma, S, Li, P, Wang, X et al.. Mild cognitive impairment is associated with effect of uremic metabolites on gray matter structural changes in end-stage kidney disease. Brain Imaging Behav. 2025; :. doi: 10.1007/s11682-025-01003-y. PubMed PMID:40338492 .
- Zhang, B, Zhan, Z, Xi, S, Zhang, Y, Yuan, X. Association Between Maternal Creatinine to Body Weight Ratio and Small/Large for Gestational Age Newborns Among 11,734 Chinese Women. J Epidemiol Glob Health. 2025;15 (1):70. doi: 10.1007/s44197-025-00414-w. PubMed PMID:40338432 .
- Xie, W, Liu, Q, Tang, Y, Li, Y, Zhang, Y, Wang, S et al.. Tofacitinib as a possible treatment in macrophage activation syndrome: a pilot single-center study in China. Clin Rheumatol. 2025; :. doi: 10.1007/s10067-025-07465-1. PubMed PMID:40338417 .
- Wang, K, Wang, L, Man, J, Yang, J, Zhang, Y, Wang, H et al.. Perioperative and functional outcomes of Retzius-sparing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy vs. conventional robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: evidence based on randomized-controlled trials. J Robot Surg. 2025;19 (1):208. doi: 10.1007/s11701-025-02337-x. PubMed PMID:40338394 .
- Weng, J, Liu, J, Zhang, Z, Li, M, Zhang, Y, Wang, Q et al.. Outcomes and safety of repeated microvascular decompression for recurrent trigeminal neuralgia. Neurosurg Rev. 2025;48 (1):407. doi: 10.1007/s10143-025-03559-1. PubMed PMID:40338377 .