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
- Zhang, Y, Chen, S, Zhang, S, Li, Y, Wang, Y, Cao, M et al.. Oligodendrocyte Egr2 Mediates the Beneficial Effect of Resocialization on the Social Ability of Socially Isolated Mice. Neurosci Bull. 2025; :. doi: 10.1007/s12264-025-01534-w. PubMed PMID:41196513 .
- Zhou, Z, Wang, H, Zhang, Y, Lv, H, Zhang, Z, Li, H et al.. Biomechanical Characterization of Central Corneal Region Using Inflation Test and its Application to Predicting Central Corneal Response Under Intraocular Pressure. Ann Biomed Eng. 2025; :. doi: 10.1007/s10439-025-03903-y. PubMed PMID:41196488 .
- Gao, J, Song, S, Duo, Y, Qiao, X, Zhang, Y, Xu, J et al.. Establishment of an accurate prediction system for gestational diabetes mellitus based on the characteristics of metabolic kinetics in early pregnancy: a prospective two-center cohort study in population according to IOM criteria. Endocrine. 2025; :. doi: 10.1007/s12020-025-04415-4. PubMed PMID:41196485 .
- Huo, Q, Zhang, Y, Guo, J, Jiang, YA, Zhao, J. Dexmedetomidine protects against postoperative neurocognitive disorder by mitigating mitochondrial dysfunction through regulating the IP3R-GRP75-VDAC1 complex-mediated calcium transport. Immunol Res. 2025;73 (1):156. doi: 10.1007/s12026-025-09705-7. PubMed PMID:41196448 .
- Li, S, Gao, Y, Zhang, X, Lang, J, Liu, X, Zhang, Y et al.. Bicyclol improves cognition deficits and inhibits oxidative stress-induced neuronal cell apoptosis in alzheimer's disease via Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. Metab Brain Dis. 2025;40 (8):310. doi: 10.1007/s11011-025-01738-z. PubMed PMID:41196440 .