LOOP NEWS
2025
The paper titled “An epigenetic repressor TRIM66 dictates monogenic olfactory receptor expression, neural activity, and olfactory behavior” was published in Nature Communications in collaboration with the laboratories of Anan Li at Xuzhou Medical University and Longzhi Tan at Stanford University. In this work, we identify TRIM66 as a key epigenetic factor enforcing the one-neuron-one-receptor rule in olfactory sensory neurons. Loss of TRIM66 leads to aberrant receptor co-expression, impairs olfactory bulb coding, and innate olfactory behaviors in mice. Mechanistically, we reveal an essential role of TRIM66 in binding, assembly, and repression on olfactory enhancers to ensure accurate monogenic receptor expression.
2025/12/12
The review titled "Sexual dimorphism in pheromone perception across worms, flies, and rodents" was published in Trends in Neurosciences. In this review, we compare neural circuits that generate sexually dimorphic pheromone responses in Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, and rodents, spanning peripheral detection, relay centers, and central integration. We further highlight conserved principles and lineage-specific adaptations of sexually dimorphic behaviors across different species.
2025/11/06
Dr. Hongqiang Bao, the graduate student in our lab, joined the lab as a postdoctoral fellow.
2025/09/30
The review titled "Ligand recognition and function of TAARs" was published in Sensory Neuroscience. In this paper, we summarize the evolutionary history, gene expression mechanisms, ligand recognition, and functional insights of TAARs.
2025/06/13
2025/05/15
Congratulations to Dr. Yue Hao (Postdoctoral Fellow) for receiving the General Program of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation.
2025/06/25
Hongqian Bao, a PhD candidate in the class of 2021, successfully defended his doctoral dissertations. Congratulations to Dr. Bao.
2024
Congratulations to Dr. Yue Hao (Postdoctoral Fellow) for receiving the General Program of the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality.
2024/12/26
Xi Wang and Ce Bian, two PhD graduate students in the class of 2024, joined the lab.
2024/12/22
Congratulations to Jiahao Pi for receiving the Undergraduate Student Basic Research Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).
2024/09/14
The Editorial titled “Modulation of olfactory bulb activity by serotoninergic inputs in odor-associative learning“ was published in Acta Physiologica. We have commented a recent paper by Anan Li’s group (https://doi.org/10.1111/apha.14198), wherein they elucidated the serotonergic inputs from the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) to the olfactory bulb (OB) as the neural mechanisms underlying plasticity of odor response in the OB during odor-associative learning.
2024/08/28
Congratulations to the two Postdoctoral Fellows, Dr. Kangying Qian and Dr. Yue Hao, for receiving the Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).
2024/08/23
Congratulations to Dr. Yue Hao (Postdoctoral Fellow) for receiving the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funded Project.
2024/07/03
The invited Spotlight titled “A non-coding role of coding mRNA in monogenic olfactory receptor choice“ was published in Trends in Neurosciences. We have highlighted a recent Nature paper by Stavros Lomvardas and colleagues (doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06845-4), wherein they unveiled the non-coding function, i.e., shaping the nuclear architecture of olfactory receptor (OR) mRNA during the transition from polygenic to singular OR gene expression.
2024/02/19
Dr. Yue Hao, a graduate from ShanghaiTech University, joined the lab as a postdoctoral fellow.
2024/01/22
2023
Congratulations to Dr. Kangying Qian (Postdoctoral Fellow) for receiving the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funded Project.
2023/12/19
Zijiao Wang, a PhD graduate student in the class of 2023, joined the lab.
2023/12/25
The paper titled "Structural and signaling mechanisms of TAAR1 enabled preferential agonist design" was published in Cell in collaboration with the laboratories of Jinpeng Sun and Fan Yang at Shandong University, Zhenhua Shao at Sichuan University, and Yue Wang at Shandong First Medical University. In this study, we develop preferential Gq or Gs/Gq agonists of TAAR1 based on structural insights obtained from m/hTAAR1-Gs/Gq in complex with a variety of endogenous amine-containing metabolites and a pre-clinical drug, SEP-363856. Our developed dual-Gs/Gq TAAR1 agonist ZH8651 shows beneficial effects in an MK-801-induced schizophrenia-like mouse model without causing catalepsy. Therefore, our study suggests that activation of both Gs and Gq signaling of TAAR1 may be effective for schizophrenia treatment, which may facilitate drug development targeting TAAR1 for schizophrenia.
2023/11/14
The paper titled "Structural basis of amine odorant perception by a mammal olfactory receptor" was published in Nature in collaboration with the laboratories of Jinpeng Sun, Fan Yang, and Yunfei Xu at Shandong University. In this study, we elucidate the structural and molecular mechanisms of odorant recognition in TAARs, a subfamily of olfactory receptors. This is achieved by solving cryo-electron microscopy structures of mouse TAAR9 (mTAAR9) and mTAAR9–Gs or mTAAR9–Golf trimers in complex with mTAAR9 ligands, including β-phenylethylamine, N,N-dimethylcyclohexylamine, and spermidine.
2023/05/24
Yutong Zhang, an undergraduate student in the class of 2022, joined the lab as a biomedical research program student.
2023/08/30
Together with Xiajing Tong's and Lei Li's labs at ShanghaiTech, we hosted a national joint lab open day sponsored by the Chinese Society of Cell Biology on the topic of "Motor Nervous System and Animal Behavior". Thanks to the volunteers in our lab: Kangying Qian, Chunxue Song, Hongqiang Bao, Yalei Kong, and Weilin Sun.
2023/05/20
Chunxue Song, a PhD candidate in the class of 2019, and Wanqing Wu, a PhD candidate in the class of 2020, successfully defended their doctoral dissertations. Wanqing Wu was also awarded the Outstanding Graduate of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Congratulations to Dr. Song and Dr. Wu.
2023/05/11
Weilin Sun, a master student in the class of 2021, has successfully passed the annual evaluation of Neuroscience Program and become a PhD candidate in the class of 2023.
2023/05/10
Dr. Kangying Qian, a graduate from ShanghaiTech University, joined the lab as a postdoctoral fellow.
2023/01/09
2022
The paper titled "A WDR47 homolog facilitates ciliogenesis by modulating intraflagellar transport" was published in Journal of Cell Science in collaboration with Xiajing Tong’s lab at ShanghaiTech University. Chunxue Song, a PhD student in the class of 2019, is the first author. In this study, we reveal how NMTN-1, the C. elegans homolog of WDR47, supports AWB cell-specific ciliogenesis and chemosensation in C. elegans.
2022/12/19
Hongqiang Bao, a PhD student in the class of 2021, won the First Prize of Outstanding Experiment Record Award in the 13th "New Feather Cup" Research Activity Day of the School of Basic Medical Sciences.
2022/12/02
The lab invited the Graduate Student Dissertation Committee members, including Hui Zheng, Lei Li, and Xiajing Tong from ShanghaiTech University, Dongmin Yin from East China Normal University, Yan Jiang from Fudan University, and Zhiyong Liu from Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, to conduct annual dissertation advising activities and provided supervision for the PhD students Wanqing Wu, Hongqiang Bao, and Yalei Kong as well as the master student Weilin Sun.
2022/11/17
2022/10/14
Hongqiang Bao, a PhD student in the class of 2021, was awarded the honor of Merit Students of Shanghai Jiao Tong University for the academic year of 2021-2022.
The two research assistants of the LOOP, Dr. Aimei Fei and Dr. Rong Liu, were awarded the Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) . In addition, Dr. Shengju Li (Postdoctoral Fellow, EYE & ENT Hospital of Fudan University) and Dr. Lingna Guo (The Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University), who are graduates of the LOOP, were also awarded the Young Scientists Fund of NSFC.
2022/09/08
Yalei Kong, a master student in the class of 2020, has successfully passed the annual evaluation of Neuroscience Program and become a PhD candidate in the class of 2022.
2022/05/23
The paper titled "Olfactory regulation by dopamine and DRD2 receptor in the nose" was published in PNAS in collaboration with Dongmin Yin's lab at East China Normal University. Hongqiang Bao, a PhD student in the class of 2021, is one of the co-first authors. In this study, we find that starvation enhances the olfactory sensitivity by decreasing secretion of nasal dopamine from the sympathetic nerve terminals, which alleviates the inhibitory effect of dopamine on olfactory receptor signaling through dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2).
2022/03/15
Jiahao Pi, an undergraduate student in the class of 2021, joined the lab as a biomedical research program student.
2022/04/23
The paper titled "Evolution of brain-expressed biogenic amine receptors into olfactory trace amine-associated receptors" was published in Molecular Biology and Evolution in collaboration with Renjie Chai's lab at Southeast University. Lingna Guo, a postdoctoral fellow (co-supervised with Dr. Renjie Chai), Wenxuan Dai, an undergraduate, and Zhengrong Xu, a PhD student (co-advised with Dr. Xia Gao's group at Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School), are co-first authors. In this study, we provide a comprehensive investigation of the evolution and ligand recognition profiles of TAARs and TAAR-like receptors.
2022/03/03
2022/02/17
The paper titled "Two entry tunnels in mouse TAAR9 suggest the possibility of multi-entry tunnels in olfactory receptors" was published in Scientific Reports in collaboration with Xia Gao's lab at Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School. Zhengrong Xu, a PhD student (co-advised with Dr. Xia Gao) and Lingna Guo, a postdoctoral fellow (co-supervised with Dr. Renjie Chai), are co-first authors. Wenxuan Dai, an undergraduate, is one of the co-corresponding authors. In this study, we investigate the ligand entry route in mouse TAAR9 and identify two potential tunnels that connect the external surface of the receptor to the internal orthosteric binding pocket.
The paper titled "Molecular and phenotypic expansion of Alström syndrome in Chinese patients" was published in Frontiers in Genetics in collaboration with Xiumin Wang's lab at Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. In this study, we reveal olfactory identification impairments in Alström syndrome (ALMS) patients.
2022/02/08
2021
Weilin Sun, a master student in the class of 2021, joined the lab.
2021/12/22
Wanqing Wu, a PhD student in the class of 2020, participated in the "2021 Yangtze River Neuroscience Youth Forum" and gave an oral presentation, and won the Yangtze River Neuroscience Outstanding Graduate Student Award (third prize).
2021/11/21
Wanqing Wu, a PhD student in the class of 2020, participated in the 8th International Symposium on 3D Genomics (online due to the epidemic) and gave an oral presentation.
2021/11/18-21
The lab invited the Graduate Student Dissertation Committee members, including Hanhui Ma and Xiajing Tong from ShanghaiTech University, Dongmin Yin from East China Normal University, Yiqun Yu from Fudan University, and Jinwei Zhu from Shanghai Jiao Tong University to conduct annual dissertation advising activities and provided supervision for the PhD students Chunxue Song, Wanqing Wu, and Hongqiang Bao as well as the master student Yalei Kong.
2021/11/18
All the lab members attended the "2021 Conference on Epigenetics and Chromatin Biology" in Changchun, Jilin, China, which was co-sponsored by the Epigenetics Committee of the Genetics Society of China and the Division of Chromatin Biology of the Society for Cell Biology of China, and hosted by Jilin University and Northeast Normal University.
2021/10/18
Lingna Guo, a PhD student (2017-2019) and subsequent postdoctoral fellow (2019-2021) co-advised by our lab and Southeast University, started her own research as an Associate Professor in the Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University.
2021/10/08
The paper titled "Convergent olfactory trace amine-associated receptors detect biogenic polyamines with distinct motifs via a conserved binding site" was published in Journal of Biological Chemistry in collaboration with Weiming Li’s lab at Michigan State University. Shengju Li, a PhD student in the class of 2017, is a co-first author. In this study, we find that sea lamprey TAAR365 (sTAAR365) and mouse TAAR9 (mTAAR9) utilize convergent structural bases with distinct residues to detect various biogenic polyamines. The convergent mechanism of polyamine recognition by TAARs reveals additional insights into amine detection by GPCRs.
2021/09/30
2021/09/23
Wanqing Wu, a PhD student in the class of 2020, was awarded the 2021 Graduate Student National Scholarship.
The paper titled "Coordination of two enhancers drives expression of olfactory trace amine-associated receptors" was published in Nature Communications. Dr. Aimei Fei, a research assistant and Wanqing Wu, a PhD student in the class of 2020, are co-first authors. In this study, we reveal a coordinated control of Taar gene choice in OSNs by two remote enhancers, and provide an excellent model to study molecular mechanisms underlying formation of an olfactory subsystem.
2021/06/18
Shengju Li, a PhD candidate in the class of 2017, successfully defended her doctoral dissertation and will pursue her postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Hongmeng Yu at EYE & ENT Hospital of Fudan University.
2021/06/03
Hongqiang Bao, a master student in the class of 2019, has successfully passed the annual evaluation of Neuroscience Program and become a PhD candidate in the class of 2021.
2021/05/08
The paper titled "Male pheromones modulate synaptic transmission at the C. elegans neuromuscular junction in a sexually dimorphic manner" was published in eLife in collaboration with Xiajing Tong's lab at ShanghaiTech University. In this study, we find that exposure of hermaphrodites to the male pheromones specifically increases the accumulation of presynaptic CaV2 calcium channels and clustering of postsynaptic acetylcholine receptors at cholinergic synapses of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). This potentiation of cholinergic synaptic transmission in hermaphrodites leads to a reduction in locomotion activity and an enhancement of mating efficiency.
2021/03/31
2020
Yalei Kong, a master student in the class of 2020 joined the lab.
2020/12/30
The lab invited the Graduate Student Dissertation Committee members, including Liye Zhang and Xiajing Tong from ShanghaiTech University, Yunli Xie and Yiqun Yu from Fudan University, and Qian Bian from Shanghai Jiao Tong University to conduct annual dissertation advising activities and provided supervision for the PhD students Shengju Li, Chunxue Song, and Wanqing Wu as well as the master student Hongqiang Bao.
2020/11/18
Dr. Rong Liu joined the lab as a research associate.
2020/06/10
The lab successfully organized a nationally sponsored lab open day, supported by the Chinese Society of Cell Biology, under the theme of 'How do we smell?'. We extend our gratitude to Lingna Guo, Shengju Li, Wanqing Wu, and Hongqiang Bao for their dedicated contributions.
2020/05/16
2020/04/30
The paper titled "Chromatin-Binding Protein PHF6 Regulates Activity-Dependent Transcriptional Networks to Promote Hunger Response" was published in Cell Reports in collaboration with our neighbour, Ju Huang’s lab. In this study, we show that plant homeodomain finger protein 6 (PHF6) is a transcriptional repressor enriched in AgRP neurons and regulates immediate early gene (IEG) expression. Depletion of PHF6 in AgRP neurons decreases hunger-driven feeding motivation and makes the mice resistant to body weight gain under repetitive fasting/refeeding conditions.
2020/03/17
2019
Wanqing Wu, a master student in the class of 2018, has successfully passed the annual evaluation of Neuroscience Program and become a PhD candidate in the class of 2020.
Zhengrong Xu, a joint PhD student with Dr. Xia Gao at Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, continued her new journey towards a resident physician at Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School.
2019/12/30
Hongqiang Bao, a master student in the class of 2019, joined the lab.
2019/12/20
The review titled "TAAR agonists" was published in Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology. Zhengrong Xu, a joint PhD student with Dr. Xia Gao is the first author. In this study, we provide a comprehensive review of TAAR agonists, including their structures, biosynthesis pathways, and functions.
2019/12/17
Wanqing Wu, a master student in the class of 2018, won the Second Prize of Excellent Poster Award in the 10th "New Feather Cup" Research Activity Day of the School of Basic Medical Sciences.
2019/12/04
Dr. Aimei Fei joined the lab as a research associate.
2019/11/08
Research assistant Yang Cheng left the lab to start her new job at Ruijin Hospital.
2019/10/15
Chunxue Song, a PhD student in the class of 2019, participated in the 13th annual meeting of Chinese Neuroscience Society in Suzhou.
2019/10/10
Chunxue Song, a master student in the class of 2017, has successfully passed the annual evaluation of Neuroscience Program and become a PhD candidate in the class of 2019.
2019/04/29
2018
Wanqing Wu, a master student in the class of 2018, joined the lab.
2018/12/23
Shengju Li, a PhD student in the class of 2017, won the Second Prize of Outstanding Experiment Record Award in the 9th "New Feather Cup" Research Activity Day of the School of Basic Medical Sciences
2018/12/20
Chunxue Song, a master student in the class of 2017, joined the lab.
2018/04/13
2017
Lingna Guo, a PhD student co-advised with Dr. Renjie Chai's group at Southeast University and Zhengrong Xu, a PhD student co-advised with Dr. Xia Gao's group at Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School), joined the lab.
2017/02/15