Our research group is dedicated to studying neuronal communication and brain function using a variety of cutting-edge techniques,

including fluorescence probes, in vivo fluorescence imaging, and optogenetics/pharmacology/gene manipulation.

We are particularly interested in the following research topics:

1) Detection of purine molecules and their functions in brain physiology (e.g., sleep) and pathology (e.g., epilepsy, stroke).

2) Regulation and mechanisms of energy metabolism in different cell types in the brain.

3) Study of neuron-cancer communication using novel imaging tools and manipulation methods.

We believe that our research will lead to a better understanding of how the brain works and to the development of new treatments for brain diseases.

Sep. 2013- Jul. 2019    Ph.D. in Physiology, Peking University, P.R. China

Sep. 2009- Jul. 2013    B.S. in Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, P.R. China

Jul. 2019-Sep. 2023    Postdoc at Yulong Li lab, Peking University, P.R. China

Sep. 2018-Nov. 2018   Exchange student at Min Xu lab, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.R. China

# equal contributions; * corresponding author

Representative publications: 

1. Wu, Z.#, Cui, Y.#, Wang, H.#, …, Xu, M., Luo, M.* & Li, Y.*(2023), Neuronal activity-induced, ENT-dependent, somatodendritic adenosine release revealed by a GRAB sensor. PNAS, 120(14), e2212387120.

2. Wu, Z.*, He, K., Chen, Y., Li, H., Pan, S., Li, B., Liu, T., Xi, F., Deng, F., Wang, H., Du, J., Jing, M., & Li, Y.* (2022). A sensitive GRAB sensor for detecting extracellular ATP in vitro and in vivo. Neuron, 110, 770-782 e775.
   —See Comments Highlight by: Umpierre, A. D., Haruwaka, K., & Wu, L. J.*(2022). Getting a Sense of ATP in Real Time. Neuroscience Bulletin, 1-3.
   —Selected as the “Best of Neuron 2021-2022”.

3. Peng, W.#, Wu, Z.#, Kun, S.#, Zhang, S., Li, Y. & Min, X.* (2020). Regulation of sleep homeostasis mediator adenosine by basal forebrain glutamatergic neurons. Science, 369, 1208.
   —Highlights by Whalley K., Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2020 Nov;21(11):593-593.

4. Wu, Z.#, Feng, J.#, Jing, M., & Li, Y.* (2019). G protein-assisted optimization of GPCR-activation based (GRAB) sensors. Neural Imaging and Sensing 2019, vol. 10865, p. 108650N. International Society for Optics and Photonics.

5. Wu, Z., Lin, D. & Li, Y.*. Pushing the frontiers: tools for monitoring neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 23, 257–274. 

6. Wu, Z.*, & Li, Y.* (2020). New frontiers in probing the dynamics of purinergic transmitters in vivo. Neuroscience Research, 35-43. (Cover).

7. Qian, C., Wu, Z.#, Sun, R.#, Yu, H., Zeng, J., Rao, Y., & Li, Y.* (2021). Localization, proteomics, and metabolite profiling reveal a putative vesicular transporter for UDP-glucose. eLife, 10, e65417.

Other publications: 

1. He, Y.#, Zhou, X.#, Xu, T.#, Wu, Z.#, Guo, W., Xu, X., ... & Chen, J. F.* (2023). 40 Hz Light Flickering Promotes Sleep through Cortical Adenosine Signaling. medRxiv, 2023-10.

2. Hatashita, Y., Wu, Z., Fujita H., Kumamoto T., Livet, J., Li, Y., Tanifuji M., & Inoue, T.* (2023). Spontaneous and multifaceted ATP release from astrocytes at the scale of hundreds of synapses. Glia, 71(9), 2250-2265.

3. Peng, W.#*, Liu, X.#, Ma, G.#, Wu, Z., … Zhang, S.*, & Min, X.* (2023). Adenosine-independent regulation of the sleep–wake cycle by astrocyte activity. Cell Discovery, 9(1), 16.

4. Li, X., Li, Y., Zhou, Y., …, Wu, Z., ... & Dai, Q.* (2023). Real-time denoising of fluorescence time-lapse imaging enables high-sensitivity observations of biological dynamics beyond the shot-noise limit. Nature Biotechnology, 41, 282–292.

5. Pittolo, S., Yokoyama, S., Willoughby, D., ... Wu, Z., … & Poskanzer, K. E.* (2022). Dopamine Activates Astrocytes in Prefrontal Cortex via α1-Adrenergic Receptors. Cell Reports, 40.

6. Chen, Y.#, Luan, P.#, Liu, J.#, Wei, Y., Wu, Z., & Jing, M.* (2022). Spatiotemporally selective ATP events from astrocytes encode injury information and guide sustained microglial response. bioRxiv preprint, https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.06.21.497103.

7. Lin, R.#*, Zhou, Y.#, Yan, T.#, Wang, R.#, Li, H., Wu, Z., ... & Luo, M.* (2022). Directed evolution of adeno-associated virus for efficient gene delivery to microglia. Nature Methods, 1-10.

8. Dai, R., Yu, T., Weng, D., Li, H., Cui, Y., Wu, Z., ... & Luo, M.* (2022). A neuropsin-based optogenetic tool for precise control of Gq signaling. Sci. China Life Sci., 1-14.

9. Roberts B., Lambert E., Livesey J., Wu, Z., Li, Y. & Cragg S.* (2022). Dopamine release in nucleus accumbens is under tonic inhibition by adenosine A1 receptors regulated by astrocytic ENT1 and dysregulated by ethanol. The Journal of Neuroscience, 42, 1738-1751.

10. Lu, C.#, Ren, J.#, Mo J., …, Wu, Z., Li, Y., Gao, T., Cao, X.* (2022). Glucocorticoid receptor-dependent astrocytes mediate stress vulnerability. Biological Psychiatry, 92(3), 204-215.

11. Wang, Q.#, Kong, Y.#, Wu, D. Y., ..., Wu, Z., Li, Y., Yang, J.*, & Gao, T.* (2021). Impaired calcium signaling in astrocytes modulates autism spectrum disorder-like behaviors in mice. Nature communications, 12(1), 1-13.

12. Feng, J., Zhang, C., Lischinsky, J. E., …, Wu, Z., ... Lin, D., Du, J., & Li, Y.* (2019). A genetically encoded fluorescent sensor for rapid and specific in vivo detection of norepinephrine. Neuron, 102(4), 745-761.

13. Yu, H., Zhao, T., Liu, S., Wu, Q., Johnson, O., Wu, Z., …, Lei, X., Luo, W.* & Li, Y.* (2019). MRGPRX4 is a bile acid receptor for human cholestatic itch. eLife, 8, e48431.