Research

Recent years have witnessed the rise of the neuro-peripheral interactions as a major topic of research interest in biology. For example, studies have revealed that the gut-brain axis influences normal physiology and contribute to various CNS diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stress & depression and autism, et al. Accumulating data now indicate that the peripheral systems communicate with the CNS potentially through neural, endocrine and immune pathways — and thereby influences brain function and behaviors. The lab is particularly interested to investigate:
1)The role of the neuro-peripheral interactions in the regulation of mood and cognition
2)Central control of the peripheral functions and its role in neurological disorders
3)The cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuro-peripheral manipulation underlying neurodegeneration and psychiatric disorders
4)The peripheral biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of neurological disorders

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Positions available in Liu Lab at SIAT
The lab is interested in recruiting highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Fellows and Research Assistants to study the neuro-peripheral interactions. Candidates shall send their CV to xa.liu@siat.ac.cn

Biography

• Associate investigator, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, since 2019
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, US, Paul J Kenny Lab, 2016-2018
• Postdoctoral Fellow, The Scripps Research Institute - Scripps Florida, US, Sathya Puthanveettil Lab, 2010-2015
• MD, Ph.D, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, Jian-Zhi Wang Lab, 2010

Selected publications

Publications

1. Jing XY*, Feng Hong*, Yinfang Xie, Yutong Xie, Feng Shi, Ruoxi Wang, Liping Wang, Zuxin Chen^#, Xin-an Liu^#. Dose-dependent action of cordycepin on the microbiome-gut-brain-adipose axis in mice exposed to stress. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy. 2023 Oct 31. (# Co-corresponding authors)
2. Chen Z, Liu XA^#, Kenny PJ^#. Central and peripheral actions of nicotine that influence blood glucose homeostasis and the development of diabetes. Pharmacol Res. 2023 Jul 21; 194:106860. (# Co-corresponding authors)
3. Muhammad F, Fan B, Wang R, Ren J, Jia S, Wang L, Chen Z, Liu XA. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Dec 6; 23(23):15389.
4. Jia S, Guo X, Chen Z, Li S, Liu XA. The roles of the circadian hormone melatonin in drug addiction. Pharmacol Res. 2022 Jul 28; 183:106371.
5. Jia X, Chen S, Li X, Tao S, Lai J, Liu H, Huang K, Tian Y, Wei P, Yang F, Lu Z, Chen Z,Liu XA, Xu F, Wang L. Divergent neurocircuitry dissociates two components of the stress response: glucose mobilization and anxiety-like behavior. Cell Rep. 2022 Nov 8; 41(6):111586.
6. Li F^#, Fu L^#, Liu X^#, Liu XA^#, Liang Y, Lv Y, Yang Z, Guo A, Chen Z, Li W, Pan F, Luo Q. Serum metabolomic abnormalities in survivors of non-severe COVID-19. Heliyon. 2022 Sep;8(9):e10473. (# Co-first authors)
7. Xu ZB^#, Tian Y^#, Li AX^#, Tang JH, Jing XY, Deng CS, Mo ZZ, Wang JX, Lai J, Liu XM, Guo XT, Li T, Li SP, Wang LP, Lu ZH, Chen ZX*, Liu XA*. Menthol Flavor in E-Cigarette Vapor Modulates Social Behavior Correlated With Central and Peripheral Changes of Immunometabolic Signalings. Front. Mol. Neurosci., 10 March 2022.
8. Chu M, Fu G, Deng J, Wang R, Fan Q, Chen Z, Lu J, Liu XA. Evaluation of the inhalation toxicity of arecoline benzoate aerosol in rats. J Appl Toxicol. 2022 Feb 15.
9. Wang Y, Tang J, Lv Q, Tan Y, Dong X, Liu H, Zhao N, He Z, Kou Y, Tan Y, Liu XA, Wang L, Liu YY, Dai L. Establishment and resilience of transplanted gut microbiota in aged mice. iScience. 2021 Dec 18;25(1):103654.
10. Swarnkar S, Avchalumov Y^#, Espadas I^#, Grinman E, Liu XA, Raveendra BL, Zucca A, Mediouni S, Sadhu A, Valente S, Page D, Miller K, Puthanveettil SV. Molecular motor protein KIF5C mediates structural plasticity and long-term memory by constraining local translation. Cell Rep. 2021 Jul 13;36(2):109369. (^# Contributed equally)
11. Duncan A^#, Heyer MP^#, Ishikawa M^#, Caligiuri SPB^#, Liu XA, Chen Z, Vittoria Micioni Di Bonaventura M, Elayouby KS, Ables JL, Howe WM, Bali P, Fillinger C, Williams M, O'Connor RM, Wang Z, Lu Q, Kamenecka TM, Ma'ayan A, O'Neill HC, Ibanez-Tallon I, Geurts AM, Kenny PJ. 2019 Oct;574(7778):372-377. (# Contributed equally)
12. Liu XA & Kenny PJ. Cocaine-metabolizing skin grafts. Nat Biomed Eng. 2019 Feb;3(2):81-82.
13. Badal KK, Akhmedov K, Lamoureux P, Liu XA, Reich A, Fallahi-Sichani M, Swarnkar S, Miller KE, Puthanveettil SV. Synapse Formation Activates a Transcriptional Program for Persistent Enhancement in the Bi-directional Transport of Mitochondria. Cell Rep. 2019 Jan 15;26(3):507-517.e3.
14. Raveendra BL, Swarnkar S, Avchalumov Y, Liu XA, Grinman E, Badal K, Reich A, Pascal BD, Puthanveettil SV. Long noncoding RNA GM12371 acts as a transcriptional regulator of synapse function. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Oct 23;115(43): E10197-E10205.
15. Liu XA & Kenny PJ. α5 nicotinic receptors link smoking to schizophrenia. Nature Medicine. 2017. Mar 7; 23(3):277-278.
16. Tuesta LM, Chen Z, Duncan A, Fowler CD, Ishikawa M, Lee BR, Liu XA, Lu Q, Cameron M, Hayes MR, Kamenecka TM, Pletcher M, Kenny PJ. GLP-1 acts on habenular avoidance circuits to control nicotine intake. Nat Neurosci. 2017 May; 20(5):708-716.
17. Miller KE, Liu XA, Puthanveettil SV. Automated measurement of fast mitochondrial transport in neurons. Front Cell Neurosci. 2015 Nov 3; 9:435.
18. Liu XA, Kadakkuzha B, Pascal BD, Steckler C, Akhmedov K, Yan L, Chalmers MJ, Puthanveettil SV. New approach to capture and characterize synaptic proteome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Nov; 111(45): 16154-9.

 

Book Chapter

1. Kadakkuzha B, Liu XA, Rizzo V. Genomics and proteomics in brain complexity in relation to chemical-induced PTSD. “Handbook of Toxicology of Chemical Warfare Agents (2nd edition)”. Jan 2015.
2. Kadakkuzha B, Liu XA, Swarnkar S, Chen YJ. Genomic and proteomic mechanisms and models in toxicity and safety of nutraceuticals. “Nutraceuticals: Efficacy, Safety and Toxicity”. 
3. Liu XA*, Das B, Chen YJ, Chen Z, Avchalumov Y, Tian X, Puthanveettil SV*. Recent Advances in Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Research. Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research - Alzheimer Disorders, 2018, Vol. 7, 1-00. DOI: 10.2174/9781681085609118070005. (* Co-corresponding author)