Team members:

Professor: Yalin Wu

Senior Research Specialist: Yun Han

Ph.D Candidates: Danxue He, Lei Tao, Bo Yang, Shuting Guo, Beiting He

M.S Candidates: Kunhuan Yang, Yuling Chen, Xiaoqing Shen

Leavers:

Laboratory Technician: Xinhui Hou, Yanbo Liu

Ph.D Candidates: Chunyan Liao, Chao Chen, Binxiang Cai

M.S Candidates: Zhan Gao

Tel: 86-592-2183761

E-mail: yalinw@xmu.edu.cn

Research Focus:

dry age-related macular degeneration and autosomal recessive Stargardt's disease

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of severe vision loss and irreversible blindness in the world’s adults and the China’s middle-aged or elder people, and has become a serious public health problem.

AMD is broadly divided into two types: dry AMD and wet AMD. Dry AMD affects up to 88% of AMD cases. Dry AMD greatly influences on health and life quality of middle-aged or elder people in China and brings a heavy burden of ideology and economy to individuals and our country as well as restricts economic development of our nation. Autosomal recessive Stargardt’s disease (STGD1) is a hereditary macular dystrophy. Tens of thousands of people suffer from complete vision loss due to STGD1. Our study is mainly focused on the pathogenesis and drug discovery of dry AMD and STGD1.

Selected Publications:

1. Cai B, Liao C, He D, Chen J, Han J, Lu J, Qin K, Liang W, Wu X, Liu Z, and Wu Y*.Gasdermin E mediates photoreceptor damage by all-trans-retinal in the mouse retina. J. Biol. Chem. 2022, 298(2), 101553.

2. Chen C, Chen J, Wang Y, Liu Z, and Wu Y*.Ferroptosis drives photoreceptor degeneration in mice with defects in all-trans-retinal clearance. J. Biol. Chem. 2021, 296, 100187.

3. Liao C, Cai B, Feng Y, Chen J, Wu YP, Zhuang J, Liu Z, and Wu Y*.Activation of JNK signaling promotes all-trans-retinal-induced photoreceptor apoptosis in mice. J. Biol. Chem. 2020, 295(20), 6958-6971.

4. Liao Y#, Zhang H#, He D, Wang Y, Cai B, Chen J, Ma J, Liu Z, and Wu Y*.Retinal pigment epithelium cell death is associated with NLRP3 inflammasome activation by all-trans retinal. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2019, 60(8), 3034-3045.

5. Gao Z, Liao Y, Chen C, Liao C, He D, Chen J, Ma J, Liu Z, and Wu Y*.Conversion of all-trans-retinal into all-trans-retinal dimer reflects an alternative metabolic/antidotal pathway of all-trans-retinal in the retina. J. Biol. Chem. 2018, 293(37), 14507-14519.

6. Zhao J, Liao Y, Chen J, Dong X, Gao Z, Zhang H, Wu X, Liu Z, and Wu Y*.Aberrant buildup of all-trans-retinal dimer, a non-pyridinium bisretinoid lipofuscin fluorophore, contributes to the degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2017, 58(2), 1063-1075.

7. Liu X, Chen J, Liu Z, Li J, Yao K*, and Wu Y*.Potential therapeutic agents against retinal diseases caused by aberrant metabolism of retinoids. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2016, 57(3), 1017-1030.

8. Li J, Cai X, Xia Q, Yao K, Chen J, Zhang Y, Naranmandura H, Liu X, and Wu Y*.Involvement of endoplasmic reticulum stress in all-trans-retinal induced retinal pigment epithelium degeneration. Toxicol. Sci. 2015, 143(1), 196-208.

9. Zhao J, Yao K, Jin Q, Jiang K, Chen J, Liu Z, Li J, and Wu Y*.Preparative and biosynthetic insights into pdA2E and isopdA2E, retinal-derived fluorophores of retinal pigment epithelial lipofuscin. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2014, 55(12), 8241-8250.

10. Wu Y*,Jin Q, Yao K, Zhao J, Chen J, Wu X, Gan L, Li J, Song X, Liu X, and Cai X. Retinal metabolism in humans induces the formation of an unprecedented lipofuscin fluorophore 'pdA2E'. Biochem. J. 2014, 460(3), 343-352.

11. Li J, Yao K, Yu X, Dong X, Gan L, Luo C, and Wu Y*.Identification of a novel lipofuscin pigment (iisoA2E) in retina and its effects in the retinal pigment epithelial cells. J. Biol. Chem. 2013, 288(50), 35671-35682.

12. Wu Y, Zhou J, Fishkin NE, Rittman BE, and Sparrow JR*. Enzymatic degradation of A2E, a retinal pigment epithelial lipofuscin bisretinoid. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133(4), 849-857.

13. Wu Y, Yanase E, Feng X, Siegel M, and Sparrow JR*. Structural characterization of bisretinoid A2E photocleavage products and implications for age-related macular degeneration. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2010, 107(16), 7275-7280.

14. Wu Y, Fishkin NE, Pande A, Pande J, and Sparrow JR*. Novel lipofuscin bisretinoids prominent in human retina and in a model of recessive Stargardt disease. J. Biol. Chem. 2009, 284(30), 20155-20166.