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Xu Xiao, PhD

(/ʃuː ʃaʊ/)

Connect

(859) 323 7064
xxi240@uky.edu
741 South Limestone Street

Positions

  • Assistant Professor

College Unit(s)

Other Affiliation(s)
  • CVRC - Core Faculty
  • Physiology - Joint Faculty

Biography and Education

Education

2011-2017: Ph.D, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (SIBCB), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China.

2017-2023. Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pathology and Lab Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles.

Research

Lipids provide the structural framework of membranes that enclose the cell and its organelles. Precise temporal movement and spatial localization of lipids are essential for maintaining organelle homeostasis and overall organism health. My research focuses on identifying novel intracellular lipid transport pathways, understanding their cellular functions, and developing strategies to modulate intracellular lipid homeostasis for disease prevention and treatment.

Selected Publications

  1. Xiao X, Tontonoz P. PUFAs regulate SREBP1c through phosphorylation of Insig2. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Oct;121(40):e2416363121. Commentary. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2416363121. PMID: 39312672.
  2. Kennelly JP, Xiao X, Gao Y, Kim S, Hong SG, Villanueva M, Ferrari A, Vanharanta L, Nguyen A, Nagari RT, Burton NR, Tol MJ, Becker AP, Lee. MJ, Ikonen E, Backus KM, Mack JJ, Tontonoz. P. (2024). Cholesterol binding to VCAM-1 promotes vascular inflammation. BioRxiv 2024.09.17.613543;  doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.09.17.613543. (Co-first author).
  3. Xiao X, Kennelly JP, Feng AC, Cheng L, Romartinez-Alonso B, Bedard A, Gao Y, Cui L, Young SG, Schwabe JW, Tontonoz P. Aster-B-dependent estradiol synthesis protects female mice from diet-induced obesity. J Clin Invest. 2024 Jan 4;134(4):e173002. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI173002; PMID: 38175723; PMCID: PMC10866650.
  4. Xiao X, Kennelly JP, Ferrari A, Clifford B, Whang E, Gao Y, Qian K, Sandhu J, Jarrett KE, Brearley-Sholto MC, Nguyen A, Nagari RT, Lee SM, Zhang S, Weston TA, Young SG, Bensinger SJ, Villanueva CJ, Vallim TA, Tontonoz P. Hepatic nonvesicular cholesterol transport is critical for systemic lipid homeostasis. Nat. Metab. 2023. 5, 165–181. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-022-00722-6; PMID: 36646756; PMCID: PMC9995220.
  5. Xiao X, Kim Y, Romartinez-Alonso B, Sirvydis K, Ory DS, Schwabe JWR, Jung ME, Tontonoz P. Selective Aster inhibitors distinguish vesicular and nonvesicular sterol transport mechanisms. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Jan 12;118(2). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2024149118; PMID: 33376205; PMCID: PMC7812747.
  6. Xiao X, Tontonoz P. USP20 links feeding-induced cholesterol synthesis and energy expenditure. Sci. China Life Sci. 2021; 64, 337–338 (2021). Research Highlight. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-020-1867-8.
  7. Xiao X, Tang JJ, Peng C, Wang Y, Fu L, Qiu ZP, Xiong Y, Yang LF, Cui HW, He XL, Yin L, Qi W, Wong CC, Zhao Y, Li BL, Qiu WW, Song BL. Cholesterol Modification of Smoothened Is Required for Hedgehog Signaling. Mol Cell. 2017 Apr 6;66(1):154-162.e10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2017.02.015; PMID: 28344083.

  8. Xiao X, Song BL. SREBP: a novel therapeutic target. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai). 2013 Jan;45(1):2-10. https://doi.org/10.1093/abbs/gms112; Review. PMID: 23257291.

    Other Publications:

  9. Becker AP, Biletch E, Kennelly JP, Julio AR, Villaneuva M, Nagari RT, Turner DW, Burton NR, Fukuta T, Cui L, Xiao X, Hong SG, Mack JJ, Tontonoz P, Backus KM. Lipid- and protein-directed photosensitizer proximity labeling captures the cholesterol interactome. BioRxiv. 2024 Aug 24:2024.08.20.608660. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.08.20.608660; PMID: 39229057; PMCID: PMC11370482.
  10. Gao Y, Kennelly JP, Xiao X, Whang E, Ferrari A, Bedard A, Mack J, A Nguyen, Weston T, Uchiyama F, Lee MS, Young S, Bensinger S, Tontonoz P. T cell cholesterol transport is a metabolic checkpoint that links intestinal immune responses to dietary lipid absorption. bioRxiv 2024.03.08.584164; https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.08.584164.
  11. Ferrari A, Whang E, Xiao X, Kennelly JP, Romartinez-Alonso B, Mack JJ, Weston T, Chen K, Kim Y, Tol MJ, Bideyan L, Nguyen A, Gao Y, Cui L, Bedard AH, Sandhu J, Lee SD, Fairall L, Williams KJ, Song W, Munguia P, Russell RA, Martin MG, Jung ME, Jiang H, Schwabe JWR, Young SG, Tontonoz P.  Aster-dependent nonvesicular transport facilitates dietary cholesterol uptake. Science. 2023 Nov 10; 382(6671):eadf0966. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adf0966; PMID: 37943936.
  12. Qian K, Tol MJ, Wu J, Uchiyama LF, Xiao X, Cui L, Bedard AH, Weston TA, Rajendran PS, Vergnes L, Lin CH, Jin B, DeNardo LA, Black DL, Whitelegge JP, Wohlschlegel JA, Reue K, Shivkumar K, Chen FJ, Young SG, Li P, Tontonoz P. CLSTN3β enforces adipocyte multilocularity to facilitate lipid utilization. Nature. 2023 Jan; 613(7942): 160–168. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05507-1; PMCID: 9995219; NIHMSID:1875067; PMID: 36477540.
  13. Abrego J, Sanford-Crane H, Oon C, Xiao X, Betts CB, Sun D, Nagarajan S, Diaz L, Sandborg H, Bhattacharyya S, Xia Z, Coussens LM, Tontonoz P, Sherman MH. A Cancer Cell-Intrinsic GOT2-PPARδ Axis Suppresses Antitumor Immunity. Cancer Discov. 2022 Oct 5;12(10):2414-2433. https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-22-0661; PMID: 35894778; PMCID: PMC9533011.
  14. Priest C, Nagari R, Bideyan L, Lee S, Nguyen A, Xiao X and Tontonoz P. Brap regulates liver morphology and hepatocyte turnover via modulation of the Hippo pathway. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Apr 27;119 (18). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2201859119; PMID: 35476518; PMCID: PMC9171358.
  15. Ferrari A, He C, Kennelly JP, Sandhu J, Xiao X, Chi X, Jiang H, Young SG, Tontonoz P. Aster Proteins Regulate the Accessible Cholesterol Pool in the Plasma Membrane. Mol Cell Biol. 2020 Sep 14;40(19). https://doi.org/10.1128/MCB.00255-20; PMID: 32719109; PMCID: 7491948.
  16. Zhou QD, Chi X, Lee MS, Hsieh WY, Mkrtchyan JJ, Feng AC, He C, York AG, Bui VL, Kronenberger EB, Ferrari A, Xiao X, Daly AE, Tarling EJ, Damoiseaux R, Scumpia PO, Smale ST, Williams KJ, Tontonoz P, Bensinger SJ. Interferon-mediated reprogramming of membrane cholesterol to evade bacterial toxins. Nat Immunol. 2020 Jul;21(7):746-755. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-020-0695-4; PMID: 32514064; PMCID: 7778040.
  17. Gao J, Littman R, Diamante G, Xiao X, Ahn IS, Yang X, Cole TA, Tontonoz P. Therapeutic IDOL Reduction Ameliorates Amyloidosis and Improves Cognitive Function in APP/PS1 Mice. Mol Cell Biol. 2020 Mar 30;40(8). https://doi.org/10.1128/MCB.00518-19; PMID: 31964754; PMCID: 7108818.
  18. Jiang SY, Tang JJ, Xiao X, Qi W, Wu S, Jiang C, Hong J, Xu J, Song BL, Luo J. Schnyder corneal dystrophy-associated UBIAD1 mutations cause corneal cholesterol accumulation by stabilizing HMG-CoA reductase. PLoS Genet. 2019 Jul; 15(7):e1008289. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1008289; PMID: 31323021; PMCID: 6668851.
  19. Sandhu J, Li S, Fairall L, Pfisterer SG, Gurnett JE, Xiao X, Weston TA, Vashi D, Ferrari A, Orozco JL, Hartman CL, Strugatsky D, Lee SD, He C, Hong C, Jiang H, Bentolila LA, Gatta AT, Levine TP, Ferng A, Lee R, Ford DA, Young SG, Ikonen E, Schwabe JWR, Tontonoz P. Aster Proteins Facilitate Nonvesicular Plasma Membrane to ER Cholesterol Transport in Mammalian Cells. Cell. 2018 Oct 4;175(2):514-529.e20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2018.08.033; PMID: 30220461; PMCID: 6469685.
  20. Ding L, Li J, Song B, Xiao X, Zhang B, Qi M, Huang W, Yang L, Wang Z. Curcumin rescues high fat diet-induced obesity and insulin sensitivity in mice through regulating SREBP pathway. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2016 Aug 1; 304:99-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.taap.2016.05.011; PMID: 27208389.
  21. Li J, Ding L, Song B, Xiao X, Qi M, Yang Q, Yang Q, Tang X, Wang Z, Yang L. Emodin improves lipid and glucose metabolism in high fat diet-induced obese mice through regulating SREBP pathway. Eur J Pharmacol. 2016 Jan 5; 770:99-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2015.11.045; PMID: 26626587.
  22. Ding L, Li J, Song B, Xiao X, Huang W, Zhang B, Tang X, Qi M, Yang Q, Yang Q, Yang L, Wang Z. Andrographolide prevents high-fat diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6 mice by suppressing the sterol regulatory element-binding protein pathway. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2014 Nov; 351(2):474-83. https://doi.org/10.1124/jpet.114.217968; PMID: 25204338.
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