Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC);
Principal Investigator of the Cardiovascular Metabolism Laboratory;
Awardee of the National Natural Science Fund for Excellent Young Scientists Fund Program (Overseas) and the Youth Talent Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Yang Cao earned her Ph.D. from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2015. After graduation, she pursued postdoctoral training and served as an assistant scientist at the University of Washington, Yale University, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In April 2023, she joined the Department of Medicine at USTC to establish the Cardiovascular Metabolism Laboratory. While at UCLA, she worked with Dr. Jake Lusis, focusing on the pathogenesis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Her current research integrates genetics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics to investigate the regulatory roles of liver-heart crosstalk and mitochondrial metabolism in HFpEF. Her recent findings have been published in Science (2022), Nature Aging (2024), Circulation (2022), Cell Metabolism (2024a, 2024b), Circulation Research (2017, 2024), Nature Communications (2022), and EMBO Journal (2017).
Research Interests
The Cao Lab employs population-based approaches in both animal models and humans, complemented by experimental studies in mice. To dissect tissue-tissue interactions in heart failure, we use a systems biology perspective, integrating clinical phenotypes with genetic, epigenetic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic high-throughput data. To model common human genetic variations under specific environmental conditions, we utilize a panel of approximately 100 well-characterized inbred mouse strains, known as the Hybrid Mouse Diversity Panel (HMDP). Using this approach, we identified coagulation factor XI as a key mediator of liver-heart crosstalk in both mice and humans, demonstrating that deficiencies in factor XI contribute to a common form of heart failure.
1. Inter-Organ Interactions in Heart Failure
Investigating how communication between organs, such as the live and heart, contributes to the onset and progression of heart failure.
2. Genetic Mechanisms Regulating Cardiac Diastolic Function
Exploring the genetic factors that influence cardiac diastolic function, including their roles in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
3. Gut Microbiota in Heart Failure
Investigating the roles of gut microbiota and their metabolites in heart failure pathogenesis
4. Mitochondrial Function in Cardiovascular Metabolic Diseases
Studying the impact of mitochondrial metabolism and bioenergetics on the development of cardiovascular metabolic diseases, including heart failure, obesity, and diabetes.
Join Us
The lab is actively recruiting postdoctoral researchers and graduate students with interests in cell biology, molecular biology, cardiovascular research, and metabolic diseases. If interested, please email your resume to yangcao208@ustc.edu.cn.
Contact Us
Address: 431 Medical Building, 443 Huangshan Road, University of Science and Technology of China, West Campus, Hefei, China, 230026.
Lab: 431 Medical Building, USTC west campus
Office: 434 Medical Building, USTC west campus
Email: yangcao208@ustc.edu.cn
Selected Publications
1. Cao Y, Wang Y-C, Zhou Z, Pan C, Jiang L, Zhou Z, Meng Y, Charugundla S, Li T, Allayee H, Seldin MM, and Lusis AJ. Liver-heart cross-talk mediated by coagulation factor XI protects against heart failure. Science.2022;377(6613):1399-1406.PubMed PMID: 36137043.
Comment in “A coagulation factor moonlights in the heart”.Tong D, Hill JA.Science. 2022 Sep 23;377(6613):1382-1383.PubMed PMID: 36137028.
2.Wang YC, Koay YC, Pan C, Zhou Z, Wilson Tang WH, Wilcox J, Li XS, Zagouras A, Marques F, Allayee H, Rey FE, Kaye DM, O'Sullivan JF, Hazen SL, Cao Y*, and Lusis AJ*. Indole-3-Propionic Acid Protects Against Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction. Circulation Research. 2024 Feb 16;134(4):371-389.PubMed PMID: 38264909. (Featured article)
Comment in “From Gut to Heart: Role of Indole-3-Propionic Acid in HFpEF”. Vacca A, Schiattarella GG. Circ Res. 2024 Feb 16;134(4):390-392. PubMed PMID: 38359099.
3. Zhou J#, Zhang L#, Peng J#, Zhang X#, Zhang F#, Wu Y, Huang A, Du F, Liao Y, He Y, Xie Y, Gu L, Kuang C, Ou W, Xie M, Tu T, Pang J, Zhang D, Guo K, Feng Y, Yin S, Cao Y*, Li T*, Jiang Y*. Astrocytic LRP1 enables mitochondria transfer to neurons and mitigates brain ischemic stroke by suppressing ARF1 lactylation. Cell Metabolism. 2024 Jun 14:S1550-4131(24)00192-X. PMID: 38906140.
4. He Q#, Ji L#, Wang Y#, Zhang Y#, Wang H, Wang J, Zhu Q, Xie M, Ou W, Liu J, Tang K, Lu K, Liu Q, Zhou J, Zhao R, Cai X, Li N, Cao Y*, Li T*. Acetate enables metabolic fitness and cognitive performance during sleep disruption. Cell Metabolism. 2024 Sep 3;36(9):1998-2014.e15. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2024.07.019. Epub 2024 Aug 19. PMID: 39163862.
5. Zuo X#, Zhao R#, Wu M#, Wang Y#, Wang S#, Tang K, Wang Y, Chen J, Yan X*, Cao Y*, Li T*. Multi-omic profiling of sarcopenia identifies disrupted branched-chain amino acid catabolism as a causal mechanism and therapeutic target. Nature Aging. 2025
6. Cao Y, Pan C, Wang Y-C, Zhou Z, Jedian V, Meng Y, Campbell G, Guardino K, Li C, Wang J, and Lusis AJ. Identification of DNA Damage Repair Enzyme Ascc2 as Causal for Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF). Circulation. 2022 Apr 5;145(14):1102-1104.PubMed PMID: 35377742.
7. Cao Y, Vergnes L, Wang Y-C, Pan C, Krishnan KC, Moore TM, Rosa-Garrido M, Kimball TH, Zhou Z, Charugundla S, Rau CD, Seldin MM, Wang J, Vondriska TM, Wang Y, Reue K, and Lusis AJ. Sex Differences in Heart Mitochondria Regulate Diastolic Dysfunction. Nature Communications. 13, 3850 (2022). PubMed PMID: 35787630.
8. Cao Y#, Bojjireddy N#, Kim M, Li T, Zhai P, Nagarajan N, Sadoshima J, Palmiter RD, Tian R. Activation of γ2-AMPK Suppresses Ribosome Biogenesis and Protects Against Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury. Circulation Research. 2017 Oct 27;121(10):1182-1191. PubMed PMID: 28835357.
9. Cao Y#, Guo WT#, Tian S, He X, Wang XW, Liu X, Gu KL, Ma X, Huang D, Hu L, Cai Y, Zhang H, Wang Y*, Gao P*. miR-290/371-Mbd2-Myc circuit regulates glycolytic metabolism to promote pluripotency. EMBO J. 2015 Mar 4;34(5):609-23. PubMed PMID: 25603933.
10. Cao Y#, Aquino-Martinez R#, Hutchison E#, Allayee H, Lusis AJ*, and Rey FE. Role of gut microbe-derived metabolites in cardiometabolic diseases: Systems based approach. Mol. Metabolism. 2022 Jul 20:101557. PubMed PMID: 35870705.
11. Cao Y*, Lusis AJ, Coagulation factor with potential for the treatment of heart failure. Clin Transl Med. 2022; 00: e1144.
12. Wang YC, Cao Y, Pan C., Zhou Z, Lusis AJ. Heterogeneity of small intestinal immune and epithelial cells and their cellular response network to a western diet. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2023 220 (5): e20221437.
13. Moore T, Cheng L, Wolf D, Ngo J, Segawa M, Zhu X, Strumwasser A, Cao Y, Clifford B, Ma A, Scumpia P, Shirihai O, Vallim T, Laakso M, Lusis AJ, Hevener A, Zhenqi Zhou. Parkin Regulates Adiposity by Coordinating Mitophagy with Mitochondrial Biogenesis in White Adipocytes. Nature Communications.2022;13(1):6661. Published 2022 Nov 4. PubMedPMID: 36333379.
14. Krishnan KC, Hachem EJ, Keller MP, Patel SG, Carroll L, Vegas AD,Gyuricza IG, Light C, Cao Y,Pan C, Kaczor-Urbanowicz KE, Shravah V, Anum D, Pellegrini M, Lee CF, Seldin MM, Rosenthal NA, Churchill GA, Attie AD, Parker BL, James DE, and Lusis AJ. Genetic Architecture of Heart Mitochondrial Proteome influencing Cardiac Hypertrophy. Elife. 2023 Jun 5;12:e82619. PubMed PMID: 37276142.
15. Lee CF, Cao Y, Tian R. Failed Power Plant Turns into Mass Murder: New Insight on Mitochondrial Cardiomyopathy. Circulation Research. 2018 Jan 5;122(1):11-13. PubMed PMID: 29301837.
16. Li T, Zhang Z, Kolwicz SC Jr, Abell L, Roe ND, Kim M, Zhou B, Cao Y, Ritterhoff J, Gu H, Raftery D, Sun H, Tian R. Defective Branched-Chain Amino Acid Catabolism Disrupts Glucose Metabolism and Sensitizes the Heart to Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury. Cell Metabolism. 2017 Feb 7;25(2):374-385. PubMed PMID: 28178567.