Metabolic diseases are woes of modern society.  Vicious interplays of distorted glucose and lipid metabolism greatly increase the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.  Metabolism homeostasis is maintained through crosstalk and coordination among numerous cell types across multiple tissues, in which the cellular secretory pathway plays a pivotal role.  Furthermore, the cellular secretory pathway has evolved into selective programs, allowing a particular cell to precisely communicate and influence beyond itself.  In metabolic regulation, the secretory pathway not only navigates numerous protein or lipid cargos with distinct properties and itineraries, but also promptly responds to unique signal cues that mobilize the same cargo differently for specific metabolic outputs.  

We thus aim to illustrate the unique machinery and/or specialized signaling within the secretory pathway that are required for metabolic regulation, and to understand their implications in both inherited and acquired metabolic disorders, with integrated approaches including biochemistry, cell biology, molecular genetics, and proteomics. 

Current research projects:  (1) key secretory processes that regulate glucose transport and cholesterol metabolism, (2) cellular signals that govern secretory events during metabolic control and their implications in metabolic disorders, (3) specific secretory proteins as biological medicines in the treatment of metabolic diseases.

Lab members:
PI: Xiao-Wei Chen, Ph.D.
E-mail: xiaowei_chen(AT)pku.edu.cn
Staff: Meijuan Wang, Ph.D.; Yuangang Zhu, Ph.D. 
Graduate students:  Chao Nie, Han Gao, Wenjing Zhou
Guest students：Huan Fang
Undergraduate students 
Address: Rm. 216, Pacific Building, Peking University

Back