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
- Liang, Q, Xu, Z, Chen, S, Lin, S, Lin, X, Li, Y et al.. Differential Neural Dynamics in Psychomotor Retardation and Agitation of Depression. Hum Brain Mapp. 2026;47 (2):e70453. doi: 10.1002/hbm.70453. PubMed PMID:41578838 .
- Yuan, X, Lin, C, Zhang, Y, He, H, Li, L. miR-23a-5p Alleviates Gouty Inflammation by Targeting Interleukin-17A and Inhibiting NLR Family Pyrin Domain Containing 3 Inflammasome Activation. Arch Rheumatol. 2025;40 (4):443-451. doi: 10.5152/ArchRheumatol.2025.11198. PubMed PMID:41578764 .
- Zhao, YL, Qu, Q, Wang, YM, Zhang, YT, Qu, J. A disproportionality analysis of adverse events associated with omadacycline based on the FDA adverse event reporting system database. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2026;81 (2):. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkag006. PubMed PMID:41578739 .
- Wang, M, Zhang, Y, Zhu, Q, Guan, L, Xun, Y, Liu, Y et al.. Myeloid lineage CAR knock-in mice enable allogeneic immunotherapy for liver and lung fibrosis. Mol Ther. 2026; :. doi: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2026.01.027. PubMed PMID:41578643 .
- Huang, L, Zhu, Y, Zhang, Y, Zhu, W, Fang, L, Chen, L et al.. Enhancing clinical reasoning in medical students: A novel pedagogical approach integrating a virtual patient platform with mind mapping. Medicine (Baltimore). 2026;105 (4):e47273. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000047273. PubMed PMID:41578590 .