Feng  Liu, Ph.D.

Currently seeking M.S. & Ph.D. students.

Signaling mechanisms regulating metabolism and aging research

Our primary research interest lies in the mechanisms underlying obesity and its associated metabolic diseases such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. We are also interested in the molecular links between metabolism, immunology, and aging. Students in my laboratory have been using cell culture and tissue-specific transgenic and/or knockout mouse models to elucidate key signaling pathways involved in the regulation of metabolism and aging. They also identify and characterize novel secretory molecules from human and mouse sera with the hope to develop effective therapeutic treatment to improve metabolic and aging-associated diseases. 

Diseases Associated: Obesity, type 2 diabetes, and aging.

Sub-Field of Study: Immunometabolism

Techniques Used: Cell culture, siRNA, CRISPR-Cas9 technique, Western blot, immunoprecipitation, Real-Time PCR, FPLC, confocal immunofluorescence analysis, site-directed mutagenesis, yeast two-hybrid system, H&E and Oil Red O Staining, glucose and insulin tolerance tests, tissue-specific knockout and transgenic animal models. 

• Professional Background

  Education

  • 1990 - PhD - Biochemistry - Iowa State University
  • 1982 - BS - Biochemistry - Wuhan University
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship - Molecular Biology - Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Stanford University
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship - Biochemistry - Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University

  Appointments

  • 4/2018 - Joe R and Teresa Lozano Long Chair in Pharmacology - The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Pharmacology, San Antonio
  • 9/2005 - Professor - University of Texas Health Science Center, Pharmacology, San Antonio
  • 8/1998 - Cross Faculty Appointment - University of Texas Health Science Center, Biochemistry, San Antonio

• Instruction & Training

  • 7/2018 - Present, Ph.D. Dissertations Directed, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
  • 7/2018 - Present, Ph.D. Dissertations Directed, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
  • 6/2018 - Present, Undergraduate Student Supervision, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
  • 5/2018 - Present, Ph.D. Dissertations Directed, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
  • 3/2018 - Present, Post-Doctoral Student Supervision, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
  • 2/2017 - Present, Post-Doctoral Student Supervision, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
  • 5/2016 - Present, Post-Doctoral Student Supervision, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
  • 6/2014 - Present, Ph.D. Dissertations Directed, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
  • 1/2013 - Present, Post-Doctoral Student Supervision, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
  • 8/2011 - Present, Membership on Supervising Committee, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
  • 1/2006 - Present, Ph.D. Dissertations Directed, Department of Biochemistry, UTHSCSA
  • 7/2004 - Present, Post-Doctoral Student Supervision, Department of Pharmacology, UTHSCSA
  • 1/2004 - Present, Ph.D. Dissertations Directed, Department of Pharmacology, UTHSCSA
  • 1/1997 - Present, Molecular Pharmacology, The University of Texas Health Science Center

• Research & Grants

  My early studies focused on the mechanisms regulating insulin, adiponectin, and mTORC1 signaling.  Our recent reserach focues on the newly discovered DNA-sensing cGAS-STING innate immune defensing pathway in metabolism, especially sterile inflammation, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes.

   

  Grants

  Federal

  Funding Agency ASPET Title ASPET Fellowship Program for Undergraduate Students Status Active Period 6/2007 - Present Role Contributor Grant Detail   Funding Agency NIH/NIDDK Title Regulation and Function of Adiponectin Multimerization Status Active Period 4/2014 - 3/2018 Role Principal Investigator Grant Detail   Funding Agency NIDDK Title Regulation of adipose tissue function by Grb10 Status Active Period 9/2013 - 8/2017 Role Principal Investigator Grant Detail  

• Publications

  Journal Article

  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/feng.liu.5/bibliography/public/

  Luo L, Jiang W, Liu H, Bu J, Tang P, Du C, Xu Z, Luo H, Liu B, Xiao B, Zhou Z, Liu F. De-silencing Grb10 contributes to acute ER stress-induced steatosis in mouse liver J Mol Endocrinol 2018 Jan;60(4):285-297. Chen H, Sherban A, Nocon A, Li Y, Wang H, Xu MJ, Rui X, Han J, Jiang B, Lee D, Li N, Keyhani-Nejad F, Fan JG, Liu F, Kamat A, Musi M, Guarente L, Pacher P, Gao B, Zang M. DEP domain-containing mTOR-interacting protein suppresses lipogenesis and ameliorates hepatic steatosis and acute-on-chronic liver injury in alcoholic liver disease Hepatology 2018 Jan;. Hu L, He F, Huang M, Peng M, Zhou Z, Liu F, Dai YS. NFATc3 deficiency reduces the classical activation of adipose tissue macrophages J Mol Endocrinol 2018 Jan;. Bai J, Cervantes C, Liu J, He S, Zhou H, Zhang B, Cai H, Yin D, Hu D, Li Z, Chen H, Gao X, Wang F, O`Connor JC, Xu Y, Liu M, Dong LQ, Liu F. DsbA-L prevents obesity-induced inflammation and insulin resistance by suppressing mtDNA release-activated cGAS-cGAMP-STING pathway Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2017 Jan;114(46):12196-12201. Li Q, Cui M, Yang F, Li N, Jiang B, Yu Z, Zhang D, Wang Y, Zhu X, Hu H, Li PS, Ning SL, Wang S, Qi H, Song H, He D, Lin A, Zhang J, Liu F, Zhao J, Gao L, Yi F, Xue T, Sun JP, Gong Y, Yu X. A cullin 4B-RING E3 ligase complex fine-tunes pancreatic [delta] cell paracrine interactions J Clin Invest 2017 Jan;127(7):2631-2646. Meng W, Liang X, Chen H, Luo H, Bai J, Li G, Zhang Q, Xiao T, He S, Zhang Y, Xu Z, Xiao B, Liu M, Hu F, Liu F. Rheb inhibits beiging of white adipose tissue via PDE4D5-dependent downregulation of the cAMP-PKA signaling pathway Diabetes 2017 Jan;66(5):1198-1213. Chen H, Bai J, Dong F, Fang H, Zhang Y, Meng W, Liu B, Luo Y, Liu M, Bai Y, Abdul-Ghani MA, Li R, Wu J, Zeng R, Zhou Z, Dong LQ, Liu F. Hepatic DsbA-L protects mice from diet-induced hepatosteatosis and insulin resistance FASEB J 2017 Jan;31(6):2314-2326. Cai H, Dong LQ, Liu F. Recent advances in adipose mTOR signaling and function: Therapeutic prospects Trends Pharmacol Sci 2015 Jan;. Hu F, Wang M, Xiao T, Yin B, He L, Men W, Dong M, Liu F. miR-30 promotes thermogenesis and the development of beige fat by targeting RIP140 Diabetes 2015 Jan;64:2056-2068. Liu M, Chen H, Wei L, Hu D, Dong K, Jia W, Dong LQ, Liu F. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) localization is critical for DsbA-L protei nto suppress ER stress and adiponectin down-regulation in adipocytes J Biol Chem 2015 Jan;290(16):10143-10148. Zhao L, Tang M, Hu Z, Yan B, Pi W, Li Z, Zhang J, Zhang L, Jiang W, Li G, Qui Y, Hu F, Liu F, Lu J, Chen X, Xiao L, Xu Z, Tao Y, Yang L, Bode AM, Dong Z, Zhou J, Fan J, Sun L, Cao Y. miR-504 mediated down-regulation of nuclear respiratory factor 1 leads to radio-resistance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma Oncotarget 2015 Jan;6(18):15995-16018. Kong X, Yu J, Bi J, Qi H, Di W, Wu L, Wang L, Zha J, Lu S, Zhang F, Li Y, Hu F, Liu F, Zhou H, Liu J, Ding G. Glucocorticoids transcriptionally regulate miR-27b expression promoting body fat accumulation via suppressing the browning of white adipose tissue Diabetes 2015 Jan;64(2):393-404. Ryu J, Galan AK, Xin X,, Dong F, Abdul-Ghani M, Zhou L, Wang C, Li C, Holmes BM, Sloane L, Austad SN, Guo S, Musi N, DeFronzo R, Deng C, White M, Liu F and Dong LQ. APPL1 Potentiates Insulin Sensitivity by Facilitating the Binding of IRS1/2 to the Insulin Receptor Cell Report 2014 May;7(4):1227-1238. Wang A, Liu M, Liu X, Dong LQ, Glickman RD, Slaga TJ, Zhou Z, Liu F. Up-regulation of adiponectin by resveratrol: The essential roles of the Akt/FOXO1 and AMPK signaling pathways and DsbA-L J Biol Chem 2011 Jan;286(1):60-66.