Faculty
ZHENG Hui
Title：Principle Investigator
Subject：
Email：zheng_hui@gibh.ac.cn
Address：No.190 Kaiyuan Road, Guangzhou Science Park, Luogang District, Guangzhou 510530
Study/Work Experience

2010.09 – now

Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences/ Principal Investigator

2010.01 – 2010.09

Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota/Postdoctoral Research Assistant

2005.08 – 2010.01

Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota/Ph.D.

2001.09 – 2005.07

Tsinghua University/Bachelor

Research Areas

Dr. Zheng and his research group have dedicated their efforts to investigating the intricate mechanisms that underlie various cell fate conversion processes. These processes encompass somatic cell reprogramming, differentiation, and trans-differentiation. Their studies traverse the realms of Cell Biology, Neuroscience, Epigenetics, and Pharmacology.

Dr. Zheng and his research group explore how mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulate the somatic cell reprogramming towards induced pluripotent stem cells (Nat Cell Biol, 2013), and suggested that “EMT at the early stage promote the cell fate conversion at the late stage” (Cell Res, 2014; Protein & Cell, 2014), which is well accepted in the field. In 2017, the group developed a new method to transdifferentiate the MEFs into functional neurons based on the same theory (Cell Discovery, 2017). After that, the group further explore the mechanisms underlying cell fate conversions. The group explored the positive feedback loop between cellular energy metabolism and EMT, and how they regulate the re-establishment of pluripotency, which facilitated the establishment of new pluripotency-regulating system (EMBO J, 2020). The group also explored the negative feedback loop between DNA demethylation and EMT, and how they regulate cell fate conversions (Cell Reports, 2020; Cell Discovery, 2019; JBC, 2018). Currently, the group is trying to connect EMT/MET, cellular energy metabolism and epigenetic regulation to explore the universal mechanisms underlying cell fate conversion processes.

Dr. Zheng's impactful contributions include the publication of 52 manuscripts. Among these, he is the corresponding or co-corresponding author for 37 manuscripts featured in respected journals like Nat Cell Biology, EMBO J, PNAS, Cell Reports, Biol Psychiatry, J Neurosci, and others. Additionally, he has co-authored 15 manuscripts. The cumulative impact factors of these publications surpass 300, and they have garnered over 1500 citations.

Dr. Zheng and his research group received support from various programs such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). 



Academic Performance

1. 2018, Second Prize of Guangdong Natural Science Award, Regulation of cell fate transition based on transcription factors and small molecules, 1/10.

2. 2018, Second Prize of National Natural Science Award, Regulation of cell fate by EMT-MET, 4/5.

3. 2018, Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement Award of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Stem cell pluripotency and reprogramming mechanism research group, 7/17.


Patents


1. Chinese Invention Patent, A method for obtaining nerve cells from fibroblasts using serum-free medium, ZL201610952074.4, Hui Zheng, Songwei He, Jinlong Chen.

2. Chinese Invention Patent, A method for obtaining nerve cells by transdifferentiation using serum-free medium, ZL201510289740.6, Hui Zheng, Songwei He.

3. Chinese Invention Patent, The application of naloxone in the preparation of drugs to improve the ability of spatial learning and memory, ZL201410393385.2, Hui Zheng, Wen Li, Songwei He, Hao Sun.

Representative Papers

1. Liang L#, He M#, Zhang Y#, Wang C, Qin Z, Li Q, Yang T, Meng F, Zhou Y, Ge H, Song W, Chen S, Dong L, Ren Q, Li C, Guo L, Sun H, Zhang W, Pei D*, Zheng H* Unraveling the 2,3–diketo–L–gulonic acid–dependent and –independent impacts of L–ascorbic acid on somatic cell reprogramming. Cell & Bioscience. 2023 Nov 30;13(1):218.

2. Li C*#, He J#, Meng F#, Wang F#, Sun H, Zhang H, Zhang M, Xu Q, Liang L, Li Y, Yang T, He M, Wang T, Lin J, Sun J, Huang Q, Guo L, Zhang X, Mai S*, Zheng H*. Nuclear Localization of TET2 Requires β-catenin Activation and Correlates with Favourable Prognosis in Colorectal Cancer. Cell Death & Disease. 2023 Aug 24;14(8):552.

3. Li Y#, Yang T#, Cheng Y#, Hou J#, Liu Z, Zhao Y, Chen S, Qin Z, Wang C, Song W, Ge H, Li C, Liang L, Guo L, Sun H, Wu LP*, Zheng H*. Low glutaminase and glycolysis correlate with a high transdifferentiation efficiency in mouse cortex. Cell Proliferation. 2023 May;56(5):e13422.

4. Sun J#*, Yang J, Miao X, Loh HH, Pei D, & Zheng H* Protein in DNA methylation and their role in neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation. Cell Regeneration. 2021 10(1):7

5. Meng F#, Li Y, Sun H, Li C, Li Q, Law PY, Loh HH, Liang L*, & Zheng H* Naloxone facilitates contextual learning and memory in a receptor-independent and Tet1-dependent manner. Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2021 41(5):1031-1038.

6. Zhang M#, Li Q#, Yang T, Meng F, Lai X, Liang L, Li C, Sun H, Sun J. Zheng H* Positive feedback between retinoic acid and 2-phospho-L-ascorbic acid trisodium salt during somatic cell reprogramming. Cell Regeneration. 2020 9(1):17

7. Lai X#, Li Q#, Wu F, Lin J, Chen J*, Zheng H*, & Guo L*Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transitionand Metabolic Switching in Cancer: Lessons From Somatic Cell Reprogramming. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2020 8:760.  

8. Chen J#, Liang L#, Li Y, Zhang Y, Zhang M, Yang T, Meng F, Lai X, Li C, He J, He M, Xu Q, Li Q, Law PY, Loh HH, Pei D, Sun H*, & Zheng H* Naloxone regulates the differentiation of neural stem cells via a receptor-independent pathway. FASEB journal. 2020 34(4):5917-5930.

9. Meng F#, Li Y, Sun H, Li C, Li Q, Law PY, Loh HH, Liang L*, & Zheng H* Naloxone facilitates contextual learning and memory in a receptor-independent and Tet1-dependent manner. Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2020 Sep 28. Online ahead of print.

10. Zhang M#, Li Q#, Yang T, Meng F, Lai X, Liang L, Li C, Sun H, Zheng H* Positive feedback between retinoic acid and 2-phospho-L-ascorbic acid trisodium salt during somatic cell reprogramming. Cell Regeneration. 2020 9:17

11. Lai X#, Li Q#, Wu F, Lin J, Chen J*, Zheng H*, & Guo L*Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transitionand Metabolic Switching in Cancer: Lessons From Somatic Cell Reprogramming. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2020 8:760.

12. Chen J#, Liang L#, Li Y, Zhang Y, Zhang M, Yang T, Meng F, Lai X, Li C, He J, He M, Xu Q, Li Q, Law PY, Loh HH, Pei D, Sun H*, & Zheng H* Naloxone regulates the differentiation of neural stem cells via a receptor-independent pathway. FASEB journal. 2020 34(4):5917-5930.

13. Liang L#, Chen J#, Li Y, Lai X, Sun H, Li C, Zhang M, Yang T, Meng F, Law PY, Loh HH, & Zheng H* Morphine and naloxone facilitate neural stem cells proliferation via a TET1-dependent and receptor-independent pathway. Cell reports. 2020 30(11):3625-3631.

14. Sun H#, Yang X#, Liang L#, Zhang M#, Li Y, Chen J, Wang F, Yang T, Meng F, Lai X, Li C, He J, He M, Xu Q, Li Q, Lin L, Pei D*, & Zheng H* Metabolic switch and epithelial-mesenchymal transition cooperate to regulate pluripotency The EMBO journal. 2020 39(8):e102961.

15. He S#, Wang F#, Zhang Y#, Chen J, Liang L, Li Y, Zhang M, Yang X, Pang H, Li Y, Huang X, Qin D, Pei D, Sun H*, & Zheng H* Hemi-methylated CpG sites connect Dnmt1-knockdown- and Tet1-induced DNA demethylation during somatic cell reprogramming Cell discovery. 2019 5:11, 1-17

16. Lin L#, Liang L#, Yang X#, Sun H, Li Y, Pei D, and Zheng H* The homeobox transcription factor MSX2 partially mediates the effects of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) on somatic cell reprogramming. The Journal of biological chemistry. 2018 293(38), 14905-14915.

17. He S#, Sun H#, Lin L, Zhang Y, Chen J, Liang L, Li Y, Zhang M, Yang X, Wang X, Wang F, Zhu F, Chen J, Pei D, & Zheng H* Passive DNA demethylation preferentially up-regulates pluripotency-related genes and facilitates the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells. The Journal of biological chemistry. 2017 292(45):18542-18555.

18. He S#, Chen J#, Zhang Y#, Zhang M, Yang X, Li Y, Sun H, Lin L, Fan K, Liang L, Feng C, Wang F, Zhang X, Guo Y, Pei D*, & Zheng H* Sequential EMT-MET induces neuronal conversion through Sox2. Cell discovery. 2017 3:17017.

19. Sun H#, Liang L, Li Y, Feng C, Li L, Zhang Y, He S, Pei D, Guo Y*, & Zheng H* Lysine-specific histone demethylase 1 inhibition promotes reprogramming by facilitating the expression of exogenous transcriptional factors and metabolic switch. Scientific reports. 2016 6:30903.

20. Liang L#, Sun H#, Zhang W, Zhang M, Yang X, Kuang R, & Zheng H* Meta-Analysis of EMT Datasets Reveals Different Types of EMT. PloS one. 2016 11(6):e0156839.

21. Huang Z#, Liang L#, Li L#, Xu M, Li X, Sun H, He S, Lin L, Zhang Y, Song Y, Yang M, Luo Y, Loh HH, Law PY, Zheng D*, & Zheng H* Opioid doses required for pain management in lung cancer patients with different cholesterol levels: negative correlation between opioid doses and cholesterol levels. Lipids in health and disease. 2016 15:47.

22. Chen J#, Li W, Li Y, He S, Li L, Liang L, Song Y, Qin D*, & Zheng H* MicroRNA-128-3p impaired water maze learning by suppressing Doublecortin expression in both wild type and Abeta-42 infused mice. Neurosci Lett. 2016 626:79-85.

23. He S#, Guo Y, Zhang Y, Li Y, Feng C, Li X, Lin L, Guo L, Wang H, Liu C, Zheng Y, Luo C, Liu Q, Wang F, Sun H, Liang L, Li L, Su H, Chen J, Pei D*, & Zheng H* Reprogramming somatic cells to cells with neuronal characteristics by defined medium both in vitro and in vivo. Cell Regen (Lond). 2015 4:12.

24. Zheng H#, Hutchins AP, Pan G, Li Y, Pei D*, & Pei G* Where cell fate conversions meet Chinese philosophy. Cell Res. 2014 24(10):1162-1163.

25. Li X#, Pei D, & Zheng H* Transitions between epithelial and mesenchymal states during cell fate conversions. Protein & cell. 2014 5(8):580-591.

26. Li W#, He S#, Zhou Y, Li Y, Hao J, Zhou X, Wang F, Zhang Y, Huang Z, Li Z, Loh HH, Law PY, & Zheng H* Neurod1 Modulates Opioid Antinociceptive Tolerance via Two Distinct Mechanisms. Biological psychiatry. 2014 76(10):775-784.

27. Zheng H*#, Zhang Y, Li W, Loh HH, & Law PY NeuroD Modulates Opioid Agonist-Selective Regulation of Adult Neurogenesis and Contextual Memory Extinction. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2013 38(5):770-777.

28. Zheng H*#, Loh HH, & Law PY Posttranslation modification of G protein-coupled receptor in relationship to biased agonism. Methods Enzymol 2013 522:391-408.

29. Liu X#, Sun H, Qi J, Wang L, He S, Liu J, Feng C, Chen C, Li W, Guo Y, Qin D, Pan G, Chen J, Pei D*, & Zheng H* Sequential introduction of reprogramming factors reveals a time-sensitive requirement for individual factors and a sequential EMT-MET mechanism for optimal reprogramming. Nat Cell Biol. 2013 15(7):829-838.

30. Zheng H*#, Zou H, Liu X, Chu J, Zhou Y, Loh HH, & Law PY Cholesterol level influences opioid signaling in cell models and analgesia in mice and humans. J Lipid Res. 2012 53(6):1153-1162.

31. Zheng H*#, Pearsall EA, Hurst DP, Zhang Y, Chu J, Zhou Y, Reggio PH, Loh HH, & Law PY Palmitoylation and membrane cholesterol stabilize mu-opioid receptor homodimerization and G protein coupling. BMC Cell Biol . 2012 13:6.

32. Zheng H*#, Law PY, & Loh HH Non-Coding RNAs Regulating Morphine Function: With Emphasis on the In vivo and In vitro Functions of miR-190. Frontiers in genetics. 2012 3:113.

33. Zheng H*#, Chu J, Zhang Y, Loh HH, & Law PY Modulating micro-opioid receptor phosphorylation switches agonist-dependent signaling as reflected in PKCepsilon activation and dendritic spine stability. The Journal of biological chemistry. 2011 286(14):12724-12733.

34. Zheng H*#, Zeng Y, Zhang X, Chu J, Loh HH, & Law PY mu-Opioid Receptor Agonists Differentially Regulate the Expression of miR-190 and NeuroD. Mol Pharmacol. 2010 77(1):102-109.

35. Zheng H*#, Zeng Y, Chu J, Kam AY, Loh HH, & Law PY Modulations of NeuroD activity contribute to the differential effects of morphine and fentanyl on dendritic spine stability. J Neurosci. 2010 30(24):8102-8110.

36. Zheng H*#, Loh HH, & Law PY Agonist-selective signaling of G protein-coupled receptor: Mechanisms and implications. IUBMB Life. 2010 62(2):112-119.

37. Zheng H*#, Chu J, Zeng Y, Loh HH, & Law PY Yin Yang 1 phosphorylation contributes to the differential effects of mu-opioid receptor agonists on microRNA-190 expression. The Journal of biological chemistry. 2010 285(29):21994-22002.

38. Zheng H*#, Loh HH, & Law PY beta-Arrestin-Dependent mu-Opioid Receptor-Activated Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinases (ERKs) Translocate to Nucleus in Contrast to G Protein-Dependent ERK Activation. Mol Pharmacol. 2010 73(1):178-190.

39. Zheng H*#, Chu J, Qiu Y, Loh HH, & Law PY Agonist-selective signaling is determined by the receptor location within the membrane domains. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2010 105(27):9421-9426.