Education and Work Experience
- 1997-2001: Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University
- 2001-2009: Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- 2009-2011: Postdoctoral Researcher, Ohio State University Medical Center, USA
- 2011-2018: Postdoctoral Researcher, Cleveland Clinic, USA
- 2018-present: Principal Investigator (Specially appointed), School of Life Sciences and the First Affiliated Hospital, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)
Academic Achievements and Impact
Dr. Zhou is focused on the study of glioma stem cells (GSC) and the tumor microenvironment. His research interest includes tumor immunity, tumor angiogenesis, and molecular mechanisms regulating tumor stem cells. His work discovered that GSCs secrete POSTN protein to promote macrophage infiltration, and that GSCs and tumor-associated macrophages form a positive feedback loop to enhance tumor progression. He found that pericytes in the tumor vascular system are originated from GSCs, which participate in the formation of the blood-tumor barrier to hinder drug delivery, suggesting that GSC-derived pericytes could be key targets for chemotherapy. His studies have been resulted in over 40 papers published in journals such as Cell, Cell Stem Cell, Nature Cell Biology, and Science Translational Medicine, including 2 highly cited ESI papers, with over 5000 citations.
Current Research Projects (Main Investigator Only)
- Project Title: The induction of POSTN in glioma stem cells by radiotherapy regulates immune microenvironment and promotes tumor relapse
- Source: National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Total Funding: 550,000 RMB
- Duration: January 2022 to December 2025
- Project Title: Heterogeneity of vascular pericytes and its immuno-regulatory subpopulation in glioblastoma
- Source: National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Total Funding: 490,000 RMB
- Duration: January 2025 to December 2028
Representative Papers (Last Five Years)
1. Qiuhong Zhu#, Panpan Liang#, Hao Meng, Fangzhen Li, Wei Miao, Cuiying Chu, Wei Wang, Dongxue Li, Cong Chen, Yu Shi, Xingjiang Yu, Yifang Ping, Chaoshi Niu, Hai-Bo Wu, Aili Zhang*, Xiu-Wu Bian*, Wenchao Zhou*. Stabilization of Pin1 by USP34 promotes Ubc9 isomerization and protein sumoylation in glioma stem cells. Nat Commun. 2024 Jan 2;15(1):40.
2. Aili Zhang, Zhi Huang, Weiwei Tao, Kui Zhai, Qiulian Wu, Jeremy N Rich, Wenchao Zhou*, Shideng Bao*. USP33 deubiquitinates and stabilizes HIF‐2alpha to promote hypoxia response in glioma stem cells. EMBO J. 2022 Apr 4;41(7):e109187.
3. Aili Zhang, Weiwei Tao, Kui Zhai, Xiaoguang Fang, Zhi Huang, Jennifer S Yu, Andrew E Sloan, Jeremy N Rich, Wenchao Zhou*, Shideng Bao*. Protein sumoylation with SUMO1 promoted by Pin1 in glioma stem cells augments glioblastoma malignancy. Neuro Oncol. 2020 Dec 18;22(12):1809-1821.
4. Yang Zhang, Tianxu Kang, Yuxi Wang, Chao Song, Huan Li, Hailong Mi, Yachao Li, Minhai Dong, Xiaoyu Ma, Hongtao Zhu, Lidong Cheng, Po Zhang, Zhiye Chen, Lin Zhou, Qiulian Wu, Feng Mao, Baofeng Wang, Suojun Zhang, Kai Shu, Feng Wan, Wenchao Zhou, Jeremy N Rich, Jianying Shen*, Qungen Xiao*, Xingjiang Yu*. Low level of tumor necrosis factor α in tumor microenvironment maintains self-renewal of glioma stem cells by Vasorin-mediated glycolysis. Neuro Oncol. 2024 Aug 2:noae147. doi: 10.1093/neuonc/noae147.
5. Lishu Chen#, Qinghui Qi#, Xiaoqing Jiang#, Jin Wu#, Yuanyuan Li, Zhaodan Liu, Yan Cai, Haowen Ran, Songyang Zhang, Cheng Zhang, Huiran Wu, Shuailiang Cao, Lanjuan Mi, Dake Xiao, Haohao Huang, Shuai Jiang, Jiaqi Wu, Bohan Li, Jiong Xie, Ji Qi, Fangye Li, Panpan Liang, Qiuying Han, Min Wu, Wenchao Zhou, Chenhui Wang, Weina Zhang, Xin Jiang, Kun Zhang, Huiyan Li, Xuemin Zhang, Ailing Li, Tao Zhou*, Jianghong Man*. Phosphocreatine promotes epigenetic reprogramming to facilitate glioblastoma growth through stabilizing BRD2. Cancer Discov. 2024 Apr 2. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-23-1348.
6. Huan Li, Chao Song, Yang Zhang, Guohao Liu, Hailong Mi, Yachao Li, Zhiye Chen, Xiaoyu Ma, Po Zhang, Lidong Cheng, Peng Peng, Hongtao Zhu, Zirong Chen, Minhai Dong, Sui Chen, Hao Meng, QunGen Xiao, Honglian Li, Qiulian Wu, Baofeng Wang, Suojun Zhang, Kai Shu, Feng Wan, Dongsheng Guo, Wenchao Zhou, Lin Zhou, Feng Mao*, Jeremy N Rich*, Xingjiang Yu*. Transgelin Promotes Glioblastoma Stem Cell Hypoxic Responses and Maintenance Through p53 Acetylation. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2024 Feb;11(7):e2305620.
7. Shuya Li, Min Li, Shaohu Huo, Qin Wang, Jing Chen, Shenggang Ding, Zhutian Zeng, Wenchao Zhou, Yucai Wang*, Jun Wang*. Voluntary-Opsonization-Enabled Precision Nanomedicines for Inflammation Treatment. Adv Mater. 2021 Jan;33(3):e2006160. doi: 10.1002/adma.202006160.
8. Weiwei Tao, Aili Zhang, Kui Zhai, Zhi Huang, Haidong Huang, Wenchao Zhou, Qian Huang, Xiaoguang Fang, Briana C Prager, Xiuxing Wang, Qiulian Wu, Andrew E Sloan, Manmeet S Ahluwalia, Justin D Lathia, Jennifer S Yu, Jeremy N Rich, Shideng Bao. SATB2 drives glioblastoma growth by recruiting CBP to promote FOXM1 expression in glioma stem cells. EMBO Mol Med. 2020 Dec 7;12(12):e12291. doi: 10.15252/emmm.202012291.
9. Weiwei Tao, Chengwei Chu, Wenchao Zhou, Zhi Huang, Kui Zhai, Xiaoguang Fang, Qian Huang, Aili Zhang, Xiuxing Wang, Xingjiang Yu, Haidong Huang, Qiulian Wu, Andrew E Sloan, S Yu Jennifer, Xiaoxia Li, George R Stark, Jeremy N Rich, Shideng Bao. Dual Role of WISP1 in maintaining glioma stem cells and tumor-supportive macrophages in glioblastoma. Nat Commun. 2020 Jun 15;11(1):3015. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16827-z.
10. Shuya Li, Qin Wang, Yanqiong Shen, Muhammad Hassan, Jizhou Shen, Wei Jiang, Yitan Su, Jing Chen, Li Bai, Wenchao Zhou, Yucai Wang. Nano Lett. 2020 Jan 8;20(1):242-251. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b03753.
11. Zhen Dong, Guoxin Zhang, Meng Qu, Ryan C Gimple, Qiulian Wu, Zhixin Qiu, Briana C Prager, Xiuxing Wang, Leo JY Kim, Andrew R Morton, Deobrat Dixit, Wenchao Zhou, Haidong Huang, Bin Li, Zhe Zhu, Shideng Bao, Stephen C Mack, Lukas Chavez, Steve A Kay, Jeremy N Rich. Cancer Discov. 2019 Nov;9(11):1556-1573. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-19-0215.
12. Xiuxing Wang, Kailin Yang, Qiulian Wu, Leo JY Kim, Andrew R Morton, Ryan C Gimple, Briana C Prager, Yu Shi, Wenchao Zhou, Shruti Bhargava, Zhe Zhu, Li Jiang, Weiwei Tao, Zhixin Qiu, Linjie Zhao, Guoxing Zhang, Xiqing Li, Sameer Agnihotri, Paul S Mischel, Stephen C Mack, Shideng Bao, Jeremy N Rich. Targeting pyrimidine synthesis accentuates molecular therapy response in glioblastoma stem cells. Sci Transl Med. 2019 Aug 7;11(504):eaau4972. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aau4972.
13. Stephen C Mack, Irtisha Singh, Xiuxing Wang, Rachel Hirsch, Quilian Wu, Rosie Villagomez, Jean A Bernatchez, Zhe Zhu, Ryan C Gimple, Leo JY Kim, Andrew Morton, Sisi Lai, Zhixin Qiu, Briana C Prager, Kelsey C Bertrand, Clarence Mah, Wenchao Zhou, Christine Lee, Gene H Barnett, Michael A Vogelbaum, Andrew E Sloan, Lukas Chavez, Shideng Bao, Peter C Scacheri, Jair L Siqueira-Neto, Charles Y Lin, Jeremy N Rich. Chromatin landscapes reveal developmentally encoded transcriptional states that define human glioblastoma. J Exp Med. 2019 May 6;216(5):1071-1090. doi: 10.1084/jem.20190196.
Main Research Directions (Recruitment Fields) and Content
Biology
1. Cell Biology
- Molecular mechanisms underlying the interactions between glioma stem cells and tumor-associated macrophages
- Molecular mechanisms regulating the differentiation and maintenance of vascular pericytes in GBM
- Signaling pathways related to glioma stem cell maintenance
Contact Information
E-mail: wzaz@ustc.edu.cn
Phone: 0551-62284938