Yunshu Zhang

Dr. Yunshu Zhang


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

4Years (2023-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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24 April 2023 in Scientific Reports
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
JLJifeng Liu
Jifeng Liu
LZLei Zhong
Lei Zhong
DDDawei Deng
Dawei Deng
YZYunshu Zhang
Yunshu Zhang
QYQihang Yuan
Qihang Yuan
DSDong Shang
Dong Shang
The tumour microenvironment (TME) is vital to tumour development and influences the immunotherapy response. Abnormal nucleotide metabolism (NM) not only promotes tumour cell proliferation but also inhibits immune responses in the TME. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether the combined signatures of NM and the TME could better predict the prognosis and treatment response in gastric cancer (GC). 97 NM-related genes and 22 TME cells were evaluated in TCGA-STAD samples, and predictive NM and TME characteristics were determined. Subsequent correlation analysis and single-cell data analysis illustrated a link between NM scores and TME cells. Thereafter, NM and TME characteristics were combined to construct an NM-TME classifier. Patients in the NMlow/TMEhigh group exhibited better clinical outcomes and treatment responses, which could be attributed to the differences in immune cell infiltration, immune checkpoint genes, tumour somatic mutations, immunophenoscore, immunotherapy response rate and proteomap. Additionally, the NMhigh/TMElow group benefited more from Imatinib, Midostaurin and Linsitinib, while patients in the NMlow/TMEhigh group benefited more from Paclitaxel, Methotrexate and Camptothecin. Finally, a highly reliable nomogram was developed. In conclusion, the NM-TME classifier demonstrated a pretreatment predictive value for prognosis and therapeutic responses, which may offer novel strategies for strategizing patients with optimal therapies.

8 January 2024 in Frontiers in Nutrition
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
LZLei Zhong
Lei Zhong
JLJifeng Liu
Jifeng Liu
MXMingquan Xia
Mingquan Xia
YZYunshu Zhang
Yunshu Zhang
SLShuo Liu
Shuo Liu
GTGuang Tan
Guang Tan
Background: Numerous studies have reported sarcopenia to be associated with unfavorable outcomes in patients who have undergone pancreatectomy. Therefore, in this meta-analysis, we examined the relationship between sarcopenia and survival after pancreatic surgery.Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched for studies that examined the association between sarcopenia and survival after pancreatic surgery from the inception of the database until June 1, 2023. Hazard ratio (HR) for overall survival (OS) and/or progression-free survival (PFS) of sarcopenia and pancreatic surgery were extracted from the selected studies and random or fixed-effect models were used to summarize the data according to the heterogeneity. Publication bias was assessed using Egger’s linear regression test and a funnel plot.Results: Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. For 13 aggregated univariate and 16 multivariate estimates, sarcopenia was associated with decreased OS (univariate analysis: HR 1.69, 95% CI 1.48–1.93; multivariate analysis: HR 1.69; 95% CI 1.39–2.05, I2 = 77.4%). Furthermore, sarcopenia was significantly associated with poor PFS of pancreatic resection (Change to univariate analysis: HR 1.74, 95% CI 1.47–2.05; multivariate analysis: HR 1.54; 95% CI 1.23–1.93, I2 = 63%).Conclusion: Sarcopenia may be a significant prognostic factor for a shortened survival following pancreatectomy since it is linked to an elevated risk of mortality. Further studies are required to understand how sarcopenia affects long-term results after pancreatic resection.Systematic review registrationRegistration ID: CRD42023438208 https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/#recordDetails.

9 August 2023 in Lipids in Health and Disease
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
JLJifeng Liu
Jifeng Liu
YLYiming Li
Yiming Li
JMJingyuan Ma
Jingyuan Ma
XWXing Wan
Xing Wan
MZMingjian Zhao
Mingjian Zhao
DSDong Shang
Dong Shang
Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now the major contributor to chronic liver disease. Disorders of lipid metabolism are a major element in the emergence of NAFLD. This research intended to explore lipid metabolism-related clusters in NAFLD and establish a prediction biomarker. Methods: The expression mode of lipid metabolism-related genes (LMRGs) and immune characteristics in NAFLD were examined. The “ConsensusClusterPlus” package was utilized to investigate the lipid metabolism-related subgroup. The WGCNA was utilized to determine hub genes and perform functional enrichment analysis. After that, a model was constructed by machine learning techniques. To validate the predictive effectiveness, receiver operating characteristic curves, nomograms, decision curve analysis (DCA), and test sets were used. Lastly, gene set variation analysis (GSVA) was utilized to investigate the biological role of biomarkers in NAFLD. Results: Dysregulated LMRGs and immunological responses were identified between NAFLD and normal samples. Two LMRG-related clusters were identified in NAFLD. Immune infiltration analysis revealed that C2 had much more immune infiltration. GSVA also showed that these two subtypes have distinctly different biological features. Thirty cluster-specific genes were identified by two WGCNAs. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that cluster-specific genes are primarily engaged in adipogenesis, signalling by interleukins, and the JAK-STAT signalling pathway. Comparing several models, the random forest model exhibited good discrimination performance. Importantly, the final five-gene random forest model showed excellent predictive power in two test sets. In addition, the nomogram and DCA confirmed the precision of the model for NAFLD prediction. GSVA revealed that model genes were down-regulated in several immune and inflammatory-related routes. This suggests that these genes may inhibit the progression of NAFLD by inhibiting these pathways. Conclusions: This research thoroughly emphasized the complex relationship between LMRGs and NAFLD and established a five-gene biomarker to evaluate the risk of the lipid metabolism phenotype and the pathologic results of NAFLD.

20 November 2024 in Frontiers in Endocrinology
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
LZLei Zhong
Lei Zhong
XYXi Yang
Xi Yang
YSYuxuan Shang
Yuxuan Shang
YYYao Yang
Yao Yang
JLJunchen Li
Junchen Li
XJXingchi Jiang
Xingchi Jiang
Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disease that accounts for > 90% of all diabetes cases. Acute pancreatitis (AP) can be triggered by various factors and is a potentially life-threatening condition. Although T2DM has been shown to have a close relationship with AP, the common mechanisms underlying the two conditions remain unclear.Methods: We identified common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in T2DM and AP and used functional enrichment analysis and Mendelian randomization to understand the underlying mechanisms. Subsequently, we used several machine learning algorithms to identify candidate biomarkers and construct a diagnostic nomogram for T2DM and AP. The diagnostic performance of the model was evaluated using ROC, calibration, and DCA curves. Furthermore, we investigated the potential roles of core genes in T2DM and AP using GSEA, xCell, and single-cell atlas and by constructing a ceRNA network. Finally, we identified potential small-molecule compounds with therapeutic effects on T2DM and AP using the CMap database and molecular docking.Results: A total of 26 DEGs, with 14 upregulated and 12 downregulated genes, were common between T2DM and AP. According to functional and DisGeNET enrichment analysis, these DEGs were mainly enriched in immune effector processes, blood vessel development, dyslipidemia, and hyperlipidemia. Mendelian randomization analyses further suggested that lipids may be a potential link between AP and T2DM. Machine learning algorithms revealed ARHGEF9 and SLPI as common genes associated with the two diseases. ROC, calibration, and DCA curves showed that the two-gene model had good diagnostic efficacy. Additionally, the two genes were found to be closely associated with immune cell infiltration. Finally, imatinib was identified as a potential compound for the treatment of T2DM and AP.Conclusion: This study suggests that abnormal lipid metabolism is a potential crosstalk mechanism between T2DM and AP. In addition, we established a two-gene model for the clinical diagnosis of T2DM and AP and identified imatinib as a potential therapeutic agent for both diseases.

13 July 2026 in Metabolites
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Anliang HuangAnliang Huang
Anliang Huang
YZYunshu Zhang
Yunshu Zhang
BWBaoning Wu
Baoning Wu
TBTingting Bai
Tingting Bai
XYXiaoyang Yuan
Xiaoyang Yuan
Peiyuan YinPeiyuan Yin
Peiyuan Yin
Background: Clinical lipidomics can capture disease-associated molecular alterations at high resolution, yet translating complex lipid species data into interpretable biological insight remains challenging. Existing workflows often emphasize statistical discrimination while underutilizing the structural information embedded in lipid species. To address this gap, we developed LipiDecipher, a structure-oriented analytical framework designed to summarize lipidomic alterations into interpretable structural patterns and to provide database-supported biological contextualization. Methods: LipiDecipher integrates differential lipid analysis, structure-resolved summarization, multivariate discrimination, and knowledge-based lipid-to-protein/pathway contextualization. We applied this framework to a retrospective serum lipidomics dataset comprising healthy controls and patients with acute myocardial infarction or post-PCI recurrent myocardial infarction. To improve transparency and robustness, the revised analysis includes sex-disaggregated reporting, covariate-adjusted sensitivity analyses for sex and age, and internal separation stability assessment of category-specific LDA projections through resampling-based feature stability analysis, repeated cross-validation, and permutation testing. Results: The framework identified distinct lipid alterations across study groups, including changes in phosphatidylinositols, ceramides, and triglyceride remodeling patterns. These alterations became more interpretable when summarized at the structural level, including lipid class composition, acyl-chain length, and degree of unsaturation. Internal discrimination analyses suggested separability between groups, while repeated resampling highlighted a subset of recurrently selected lipid features. Knowledge-based mapping prioritized lipid-associated biological contexts related to glycerophospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, membrane remodeling, inflammatory signaling, and energy-related processes. Importantly, these protein- and pathway-level outputs are presented as database-supported hypotheses rather than direct evidence of target engagement or pathway activation in the studied cohort. Conclusions: LipiDecipher provides a structure-oriented and interpretation-focused framework for clinical lipidomics. In a retrospective acute myocardial infarction cohort, it enabled the prioritization of candidate lipid signatures and biologically plausible hypotheses from complex lipidomic data. These findings support its use as a hypothesis-generating analytical tool, while external validation and experimental follow-up remain necessary before mechanistic or clinical claims can be established.