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

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

Oct. 2023-now   Principal investigator, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

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

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

(# Equal contributions; * Corresponding author)

Representative publications:

1. Wei, Q.# Bai, Z.#, Wang, L.#, ... Li, Y.*, Wu, Z.*, & Wang, J.* (2025). A high-performance fluorescent sensor spatiotemporally reveals cell-type specific regulation of intracellular adenosine in vivo. Nature Communications, 16(1), 1-18.

2. Zhou, X.#, He, Y.#, Xu, T.#, Wu, Z.#, Guo, W., Xu, X., ... & Chen, J. F.* (2024). 40 Hz light flickering promotes sleep through cortical adenosine signaling. Cell Research, 1-18.

3. 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.

4. Wu, Z.*, He, K., Chen, Y., …, 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.

—Selected as the “Best of Neuron 2021-2022”.

5. Yahiro, T., ..., Cragg, S. J.*, Lopes, L. V.*, Wu Z.*, Chen, J. F.* & Zhong, H*. (2025). Adenosine in the Brain: Recent Progress on Detection, Function, and Translation. Journal of Neuroscience, 45(46).

6. Li, YM., Zhang, L., Li, B., Li, YL. & Wu, Z.* (2025) State of the art indicators for imaging purinergic dynamics in vitro and in vivo. Purinergic Signalling. 1-13.

7. Wu, Z., Lin, D., & Li, Y.* (2022). Pushing the frontiers: tools for monitoring neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 23, 257–274.

8. 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.

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

10. 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.

Other publications:

11. Yue, C.#, Wang, N.#, …, Wu, Z. ..., Wang, X.* & Luo, M.* (2025). Adenosine signalling drives antidepressant actions of ketamine and ECT. Nature, 1-9.

12. Xin, Q.#, Wang, J.#, ..., Wu, Z, ..., Hu, H.* (2025). Neuron-astrocyte coupling in lateral habenula mediates depressive-like behaviors. Cell, 188(12), 3291-3309.

13. Park, G.#, Lee, G.#, …, Wu, Z., Li, Y., & Choi M.* (2025). Glia-like taste cells mediate an intercellular mode of peripheral sweet adaptation. Cell, 188(1), 141-156

14. Wang, W.#, Guo, H.#, Yan, X.# …, Wu, Z., Qin, W.*, & Chu, L.* (2025). Silicon-rhodamine-enabled identification for near-infrared light controlled proximity labeling in vitro and in vivo. Nature Communications, 16(1), 8134.

15. Zhang, Z.#, Wang, Y.#, ... Wu, Z., & Qin, W.* (2025). Spatiotemporally-resolved mapping of extracellular proteomes via in vivo-compatible TyroID. Nature Communications, 16, 2553

16. Liu, X., Huang, H., … Wu, Z., ... & Wang, F.* (2025). A neural circuit for female-specific defensive homeostasis in risk assessment. bioRxiv, 2025-09.

17. Guo, Q. #, Hou, T.#, Xie, W.#, ... Wu, Z., … & Wang, S.* (2024). Calcium Homeostasis Modulator 2 Constitutes an ATP-regulation Pore in Mitochondria. bioRxiv, 2024-09.

18. Li, H., Zhao, Y., …, Wu, Z., Li, Y., & Luo, M.* (2024). Astrocytes release ATP/ADP and glutamate in flashes via vesicular exocytosis. Molecular Psychiatry, 1-15.

19. Umpierre, A. D.#, Li, B.#, …, Wu, Z., ... & Wu, L.* (2024). Microglial P2Y6 calcium signaling promotes phagocytosis and shapes neuroimmune responses in epileptogenesis. Neuron, 112(12), 1959-1977.

20. Chen, Y.#, Luan, P.#, Liu, J.#, …, Wu, Z., & Jing, M.* (2024). Spatiotemporally selective astrocytic ATP dynamics encode injury information sensed by microglia following brain injury in mice. Nature Neuroscience, 1-12.

21. Berki, P.#, Cserép, C.#, Környei, Z.#, …, Wu, Z., ... & Dénes, Á.* (2024). Microglia contribute to neuronal synchrony despite endogenous ATP-related phenotypic transformation in acute mouse brain slices. Nature Communications, 15(1), 5402.

22. Roy, K.#, Zhou, X.#, Otani, R.#, Yuan, P. C.#, …, Wu, Z., ... & Lazarus, M.* (2024). Optochemical control of slow-wave sleep in the nucleus accumbens of male mice by a photoactivatable allosteric modulator of adenosine A2A receptors. Nature Communications, 15(1), 3661.

23. Bayazitov, I. T., Teubner, B. J., Feng, F., Wu, Z., Li, Y., Blundon, J. A., & Zakharenko, S.* (2024). Sound-evoked adenosine release in cooperation with neuromodulatory circuits permits auditory cortical plasticity and perceptual learning. Cell Reports, 43(2).

24. Ji, E., Zhang, Y., Li, Z., Wei, L., Wu, Z., Li, Y., Yu, X.*, & Song, T. J.* (2024). The Chemokine CCL2 Promotes Excitatory Synaptic Transmission in Hippocampal Neurons via GluA1 Subunit Trafficking. Neuroscience Bulletin, 1-18.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. Hatashita, Y., Wu, Z., …, & Inoue, T.* (2023). Spontaneous and multifaceted ATP release from astrocytes at the scale of hundreds of synapses. Glia, 71(9), 2250-2265.

28. 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.

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

30. 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.

31. 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.

32. 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.

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

34. 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.

35. 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.

36. 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.