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
- Lu, J, Sun, X, Zhang, Y. Establishment and analysis of quality index system for pediatric tumor nursing. Technol Health Care. 2024; :. doi: 10.3233/THC-240252. PubMed PMID:39058465 .
- Wu, Q, Zang, R, Zhang, Y. Predictive values of cervix length measurement based on transvaginal ultrasonography. Technol Health Care. 2024; :. doi: 10.3233/THC-240079. PubMed PMID:39058457 .
- Liu, Y, He, B, Du, K, Zheng, J, Ke, D, Mo, W et al.. Periphery Biomarkers Predicting Conversion of Type 2 Diabetes to Pre-Alzheimer-Like Cognitive Decline: A Multicenter Follow-Up Study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2024; :. doi: 10.3233/JAD-240455. PubMed PMID:39058442 .
- Mu, BS, Zhang, Y, Peng, M, Tu, Z, Guo, Z, Shen, S et al.. Radiocatalytic synthesis of acetic acid from CH4 and CO2. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2024; :e202407443. doi: 10.1002/anie.202407443. PubMed PMID:39058370 .
- Chen, J, Jing, X, Wang, JC, Zhang, WQ, Zhang, Y. Enhanced electrochemical performance of NiMn layered double hydroxides/graphene oxide composites synthesized by one-step hydrothermal method for supercapacitors. Chemistry. 2024; :e202402269. doi: 10.1002/chem.202402269. PubMed PMID:39058363 .