Wei Xu, Principal Investigator
Ph.D., the University of Chicago, USA
Address: Room 803, Building 13, No. 130, Dong An Road, Xu Hui District, Shanghai, 200032
Phone Number: 86-21-54237093
E-mail: wei_xuxx@fudan.edu.cn
Research Interest
Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are an emerging family of innate effector cells that react promptly to a wide array of signals and serve important roles in inflammation, immunity against infectious microorganisms as well as lymphoid tissue formation, tissue repair and homeostasis. All ILCs are derived from hematopoietic progenitor cells in the bone marrow (BM). However, the extracellular signals and the intracellular transcription factor network that regulate the differentiation of ILCs remain elusive. We are interested in the signals that initiate and promote the development of ILCs from BM progenitors, the importance of the signals as well as the mechanism by which they regulate the differentiation of ILCs. ILCs have been shown to be important regulators of immunity while they can also contribute to the progression of diseases. We are also interested in dissecting the role of ILCs in various physiological and pathological settings.
Publications:
1. Xu W, Domingues Rita G., Fonseca-Pereira D, Ferreira M, Vosshenrich CA, Kubo M, Di Santo JP., Veiga-Fernandes H. NFIL3 orchestrates the emergence of common helper innate lymphoid cell precursors. Cell Rep. 2015 Mar 31; 10(12):2043-54.
2. Serafini N, Xu W, Di Santo JP. Innate lymphoid cells: of precursors and products…. Curr Biol. 2014 Jun 16; 24(12):R573-6.
3. Serafini N, Klein Wolterink RG, Satoh-Takayama N, Xu W, Vosshenrich CA, Hendriks RW, Di Santo JP. Gata3 drives development of RORγt+ group 3 innate lymphoid cells. J Exp Med. 2014 Feb 10; 211(2):199-208.
4. Xu W and Di Santo J.P. Taming the Beast within: Regulation of Innate Lymphoid Cell Homeostasis and Function. J Immunol. 2013 Nov; 191: 4489-4496.
5. Xu W, Carr T, Ramirez K, McGregor S, Sigvardsson M, Kee BL. E2A transcription factors limit expression of Gata3 to facilitate T lymphocyte lineage commitment. Blood. 2013 Feb 28; 121(9):1534-42.
6. Dias S, Xu W, McGregor S, Kee BL. Transcriptional regulation of lymphocyte development. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2008 Oct; 18(5):441-8.
7. Xu W and Kee BL. Growth Factor Independence 1b (Gfi1b) is an E2A Target Gene that Modulates Gata3 in T Cell Lymphomas. Blood. 2007 May 15; 109(10):4406-14.