Lei Xu

Dr. Lei Xu


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

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

Representative Publications

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17 October 2022 in Frontiers in Oncology
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
FSFengling Shao
Fengling Shao
HMHuajie Mao
Huajie Mao
TLTengling Luo
Tengling Luo
QLQijun Li
Qijun Li
LXLei Xu
Lei Xu
YXYajun Xie
Yajun Xie
Background: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common respiratory globallywith a poor prognosis. Lipid metabolism is extremely important for the occurrence and development of cancer. However, the role of genes involved in lipid metabolism in LUAD development is unclear. We aimed to identify the abnormal lipid metabolism pathway of LUAD, construct a novel prognostic model of LUAD, and discover novel biomarkers involved in lipid metabolism in LUAD.Methods: Based on differentially expressed genes involved in lipid metabolism in LUAD samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), abnormal lipid metabolism pathways in LUAD were analyzed. The lasso penalized regression analysis was performed on the TCGA cohort (training set) to construct a risk score formula. The predictive ability of the risk score was validated in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset (validation set) using Kaplan-Meier analysis and ROC curves. Finally, based on CRISPR gene editing technology, hematopoietic prostaglandin D synthase (HPGDS) was knocked out in A549 cell lines, the changes in lipid metabolism-related markers were detected by western blotting, and the changes in cell migration were detected by transwell assay.Results: Based on the differential genes between lung cancer tissue and normal tissue, we found that the arachidonic acid metabolism pathway is an abnormal lipid metabolism pathway in both lung adenocarcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma. Based on the sample information of TCGA and abnormally expressed lipid metabolism-related genes, a 9-gene prognostic risk score was successfully constructed and validated in the GEO dataset. Finally, we found that knockdown of HPGDS in A549 cell lines promoted lipid synthesis and is more invasive than in control cells. Rescue assays showed that ACSL1 knockdown reversed the pro-migration effects of HPGDS knockdown. The knockdown of HPGDS promoted migration response by upregulating the expression of the lipid metabolism key enzymes ACSL1 and ACC.Conclusion: The genes involved in lipid metabolism are associated with the occurrence and development of LUAD. HPGDS can be a therapeutic target of a potential lipid metabolism pathway in LUAD, and the therapeutic target of lipid metabolism genes in LUAD should be studied further.

Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
LXLei Xu
Lei Xu
FSFengling Shao
Fengling Shao
LTLuo Tengling
Luo Tengling
QLQijun Li
Qijun Li
DTDongmei Tan
Dongmei Tan
YTYi Tan
Yi Tan
The chromodomain helicase DNA binding domain 5 (CHD5) is required for neural development and plays an important role in the regulation of gene expression. Although CHD5 exerts a broad tumor suppressor effect in many tumor types, its specific functions regarding its expression levels, and impact on immune cell infiltration, proliferation and migration in glioma remain unclear. Here, we evaluated the role of CHD5 in tumor immunity in a pan-cancer multi-database using the R language. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype Tissue Expression (GTEx), and Cancer Cell Lines Encyclopedia (CCLE) datasets were utilized to determine the role of CHD5 in 33 types of cancers, including the expression level, prognosis, tumor progression, and immune microenvironment. Furthermore, we explored the effect of CHD5 on glioma proliferation and migration using the cell counting kit 8 (CCK-8) assay, transwell assays and western blot analysis. The findings from our pan-cancer analysis showed that CHD5 was differentially expressed in the tumor tissues as compared to the normal tissues. Survival analysis showed that CHD5 was generally associated with the prognosis of glioblastoma (GBM), low Grade Glioma (LGG) and neuroblastoma, where the low expression of CHD5 was associated with a worse prognosis in glioma patients. Then, we confirmed that the expression level of CHD5 was associated with tumor immune infiltration and tumor microenvironment, especially in glioma. Moreover, si-RNA mediated knockdown of CHD5 promoted the proliferation and migration of glioma cells in vitro. In conclusion, CHD5 was found to be differentially expressed in the pan-cancer analysis and might play an important role in antitumor immunity. CHD5 is expected to be a potential tumor prognostic marker, especially in glioma.

Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
LTLuo Tengling
Luo Tengling
JPJunwei Peng
Junwei Peng
QLQijun Li
Qijun Li
YZYao Zhang
Yao Zhang
YHYun Huang
Yun Huang
YTYi Tan
Yi Tan
Neuroblastoma (NB) is an extracranial solid tumor in children with poor prognosis in high-risk patients and its pathogenesis and prognostic markers urgently need to be explored. This study aimed to explore potential biomarkers related to NB from the aspect of lipid metabolism. Fifty-eight lipid metabolism-related differentially expressed genes between high-risk NB and non-high-risk NB in the GSE49710 dataset were analyzed using bioinformatics, including 45 down-regulated genes and 13 up-regulated genes. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis identified steroid hormone biosynthesis as an abnormal metabolic pathway in high-risk NB. Survival analysis established a three-gene prognostic model, including ACHE, GDPD5 and PIK3R1. In the test data, the AUCs of the established prognostic models used to predict patient survival at 1, 3 and 5 years were 0.84, 0.90 and 0.91, respectively. Finally, in the SH-SY5Y cell line, it was verified that overexpression of GDPD5 can inhibit cell proliferation and migration, as well as affect the lipid metabolism of SH-SY5Y, but not the sugar metabolism. hsa-miR-592 was predicted to be a potential target miRNA of GDPD5 by bioinformatics. In conclusion, this study develops a lipid-metabolism-related gene-based prognostic model for NB and demonstrates that GDPD5 inhibits SH-SY5Y proliferation and migration and may be targeted by hsa-miR-592 and inhibit SH-SY5Y fat synthesis.

Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
DDDonglin Du
Donglin Du
QLQi Li
Qi Li
ZWZhengqiang Wei
Zhengqiang Wei
ZWZiwei Wang
Ziwei Wang
LXLei Xu
Lei Xu
Inflammatory bowel disease is a risk factor for brain dysfunction; however, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to explore the potential molecular mechanisms through which intestinal inflammation affects brain function and to verify these mechanisms. Mice were treated with multiple cycles of 1% w/v dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in drinking water to establish a chronic colitis model. Behavioral tests were conducted using the open field test (OFT), tail suspension test (TST), forced swimming test (FST), and Morris water maze test (MWM). Brain metabolomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics analyses were performed, and key target proteins were verified using qPCR and immunofluorescence. Four cycles of DSS administration induced colitis, anxiety, depression, and spatial memory impairment. The integrated multi-omics characterization of colitis revealed decreased brain chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) levels as well as reduced stearoyl-CoA desaturase (Scd1) gene and protein expression. Transplantation of the colitis microbiome resulted in anxiety, depression, impaired spatial memory, reduced CDCA content, decreased Scd1 gene and protein expression, and lower concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), palmitoleate (C16:1), and oleate (C18:1) in the brain. In addition, CDCA supplementation improved DSS-induced colitis, alleviated depression and spatial memory impairment, and increased Scd1 gene and protein expression as well as MUFA levels in the brain. The gut microbiome induced by colitis contributes to neurological dysfunction, possibly through the CDCA–Scd1 signaling axis. CDCA supplementation alleviates colitis and depressive behavior, likely by increasing Scd1 expression in the brain.