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 at SIAT CAS since 2019
2016-2018, Postdoctoral Fellow, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA
2010-2015, Postdoctoral Fellow, The Scripps Research Institute - Scripps Florida, USA
2010, PhD, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China

Selected publications

1. Jia XL#, Liu XA#, Shi Y, Yao SQ, Zhong X, Tian Y, Tian Q, Chen ZC*, Wang LP*. Profiling of key brain nuclei involved in CNS control of stress and glucose homeostasis. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 2020 Jan; 521(2):441-448. (# Contributed equally)

2. 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. Habenular TCF7L2 links nicotine addiction to diabetes. Nature. 2019 Oct; 574(7778):372-377. (# Contributed equally)

3. Liu XA & Kenny PJ. Cocaine-metabolizing skin grafts. Nat Biomed Eng. 2019 Feb;3(2):81-82.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. Liu XA & Kenny PJ. α5 nicotinic receptors link smoking to schizophrenia. Nature Medicine. 2017. Mar 7; 23(3):277-278.

7. 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.

8. Wang Y, Tian Q, Liu EJ, Zhao L, Song J, Liu XA, Ren QG, Jiang X, Zeng J, Yang YT, Wang JZ. Activation of GSK-3 disrupts cholinergic homoeostasis in nucleus basalis of Meynert and frontal cortex of rats. J Cell Mol Med. 2017 Jun 28.

9. Chen L, Liu X, Wang H, Qu M. Gastrodin Attenuates Pentylenetetrazole-Induced Seizures by Modulating the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase-Associated Inflammatory Responses in Mice. Neurosci Bull. 2016 Dec 1.

10. 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.

11. Choi YB, Kadakkuzha B, Liu XA, Akhmedov K, Kandel ER, Puthanveettil SV. Huntingtin is critical both pre- and postsynaptically for long-term learning-related synaptic plasticity in Aplysia. PLoS One. 2014. 2014 Jul 23; 9(7): e103004.

12. Kadakkuzha B#, Liu XA#, Narvaez M, Kaye A, Akhmedov K, Puthanveettil SV. Asymmetric localization of natural antisense RNA of neuropeptide sensorin in Aplysia sensory neurons during aging and activity. Frontiers in Genetics. 2014 Apr 22; 5:84. (# Contributed equally)

13. Liu XA, Song J, Jiang Q, Wang Q, Tian Q, Wang JZ. Expression of the hyperphosphorylated tau attenuates ER stress-induced apoptosis with upregulation of unfolded protein response. Apoptosis. 2012 Oct; 17(10): 1039-49.