Home > Groups > Jing QU

Jing QU

Stem Cells and Aging


Email: qujing@ioz.ac.cn
Staff: Jing Qu, Yanxia Ye, Xiaoqian Liu, Qun Chu, Ruijun Bai, Shangyi Qiao
Postdoc: Zhejun Ji
Students: Hongkai Zhao, Ying Jing, Zehua Wang, Shijia Bi, Guoqiang Sun, Yandong Zheng, Min Wang, Chengyu Liu, Yixin Zhang, Xuebao Wang, Baohu Zhang,Mingheng Li, Shuaiqi Fang, Tianxiang Zhang, Dingyi Liu
Graduates: Xing Zhang, Zeming Wu, Huifang Hu, Zhiqing Diao, Zunpeng Liu, Ping Yang

 

Introduction

Jing Qu has long been engaged in aging and regeneration research. Her major research interests include: 1. Aging and Disease Models and Mechanism Study; 2. Aging Biomarkers; 3. Stem Cell and Gene Therapies. She has published over 100 papers in Cell (3 papers), Nature (3 papers), Science, Cell Stem Cell (4 papers), and other journals. She has also been authorized 29 patents (including 2 PCT patents). She is awarded with 2021 National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars for his achievements in the area of aging and regeneration research. In addition, she has won Outstanding Scientific and Technological Achievement Award issued by Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese medical science and Technology Award, Chinese Society for Stem Cell Research Young Investigator Award, and ZhuLiYueHua Outstanding Teacher Award, CAS, etc. In addition, her representative works were selected as the “Top Ten Advances in Chinese Science" in 2020, the “Top Ten Advances in Life Science in China" in 2018 and 2020, and a major achievement in the basic research field at the National Science and Technology Innovation Achievement Exhibition during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. Furthermore, she is the vice president for Aging Subsocieties of Biophysical Society of China, and editorial board member for PLoS Biology, Cell Proliferation, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, Zoological Research, The Innovation.

Research work

1) Development of novel platform for aging research

Based on the non-human-primate organ aging research system, combined with in vitro aging models of human stem cells and their derivative cells, organoids, providing a novel platform for aging research is a prerequisite for the mechanism exploration for human aging. Our recent related work includes, establishing the first multi-tissue single-cell mammalian transcriptomic atlas undergoing aging and aging interventions and revealed new molecular mechanisms in delaying aging; drawing the first high-resolution single-cell transcriptome maps of primate organs aging and reveal the key drivers and biomarkers of aging, Development of an aging database, Aging Atlas, to integrate multi-species aging-related data sets, with commitment to the convergence, open sharing and cross-research of aging-related big data (Figure 1).


Figure 1. Novel platform for aging research

2) Systematic investigation of regulatory mechanisms underlying aging

Aiming at the heterogeneity, nonlinearity, and spatiotemporal specificity of organ aging, we systematically investigated the convergent and specific aging features for different organs and cell types, to explore the driving force for aging of particular tissues or cells, and uncover potential intervention targets for aging and aging related diseases. Our recent related work includes, exploring regulatory network for epigenetic homeostasis in human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC), revealing a set of rejuvenation factors that interact with nuclear envelope or heterochromatin proteins to stabilize heterochromatin and maintain the nuclear structure. These findings provide potential targets for intervention in aging or aging-related disorders, such as osteoarthritis and liver fibrosis (Figure 2).


Figure 2. Systematic investigation of regulatory mechanisms underlying stem cell aging

Identifying a common molecular feature for primate arterial vascular cells, silencing of FOXO3A, and further demonstrating that FOXO3A silence is a driving force for arterial aging (Figure 3).


Figure 3. Systematic investigation of regulatory mechanisms underlying organ/tissue aging

3) Establishment of intervention strategies for aging and aging-related diseases

Using high-throughput screening platforms to discover rejuvenation factors that delay aging and promote regeneration, establishing novel intervention strategies against aging and related diseases based on gene editing and delivery techniques. Based on the in-depth understanding of aging, conferring stem cells with better ability to adapt to the aging microenvironment and resist malignant transformation. Our recent related work includes, editing specific nucleotides in the human genome to obtain the genetically enhanced stem cells and vascular cells; Discover a series of rejuvenation factors for gene therapy against osteoarthritis; A genome-wide CRISPR-based screen identifies KAT7 as a driver of cellular senescence. Lentiviral vectors encoding Cas9/sg-Kat7, given intravenously, alleviated hepatocyte senescence and liver aging and extended life span in physiologically aged mice as well as progeroid mice (Figure 4).


Figure 4. Intervention strategies for aging and aging-related diseases

Selected publications:

  1. Liu X, Liu Z, Wu Z, Ren J, Fan Y, Sun L, Cao G, Niu Y, Zhang B, Jiang X, Wang C, Wang Q, Li L, Yan K, Ji Q, Li W, Ji Z, Cai Y, Wang S, Zheng A, Song M, Lu F, Zhang Y, Ji W, Zhou Q, Belmonte JCI, Qu J*, Zhang W*, Liu GH*. Resurrection of endogenous retroviruses during aging reinforces senescence. bioRxiv . 2021.02.22.432260; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.22.432260.
  2. Ma S, Wang S, Ye Y, Ren J, Chen R, Li W, Li J, Zhao L, Zhao Q, Sun G, Jing Y, Zuo Y, Xiong M, Yang Y, Wang Q, Lei J, Sun S, Long X, Song M, Yu S, Chan P, Wang J, Zhou Q, Belmonte JCI, Qu J*, Zhang W*, Liu GH*. Heterochronic parabiosis induces systemic rejuvenation and stem cell revitalization across aged tissues. Cell Stem Cell. 2022. 29(6):990-1005.
  3. Liu GH*, Qu J*. Longevity secret - a pluripotent superpower. Cell Metabolism . 2022. 34(6):803-804.
  4. Liu Z, Ji Q, Ren J, Yan P, Wu Z, Wang S, Sun L, Wang Z, Li J, Sun G, Liang C, Sun R, Jiang X, Hu J, Ding Y, Wang Q, Bi S, Wei G, Cao G, Zhao G, Wang H, Zhou Q, Belmonte JCI, Qu J*, Zhang W*, Liu GH*. Large-Scale Chromatin Reorganization Reactivates Placenta-Specific Genes that Drive Cellular Aging. Developmental Cell. 2022. 57(11):1347-1368.
  5. Zhao H, Ji Q, Wu Z, Wang S, Ren J, Yan K, Wang Z, Hu J, Chu Q, Hu H, Cai Y, Wang Q, Huang D, Ji Z, Li J, Belmonte JCI, Song M*, Zhang W*, Qu J*, Liu GH*. Destabilizing heterochromatin by APOE mediates senescence. Nature Aging . 2022. DOI: 10.1038/s43587-022-00186-z.
  6. Liu ZP, Li W, Geng L, Sun L, Wang Q, Yu Y, Yan P, Liang C, Ren J, Song M, Zhao Q, Lei J, Cai Y, Li J, Yan K, Wu Z, Chu Q, Li J, Wang S, Li C, Han JD, Hernandez-Benitez R, Shyh-Chang Ng, Izpisua Belmonte JC, Zhang WQ*, Qu J*, Liu GH*. Cross-species metabolomic analysis identifies uridine as a potent regeneration promoting factor. Cell Discovery . 2022. 1;8(1):6.
  7. He Y, Ji Q, Wu Z, Cai Y, Yin J, Zhang Y, Zhang S, Zhang W, Liu GH*, Wang S*, Song M*, Qu J*. 4E-BP1 counteracts human mesenchymal stem cell senescence via maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis. Protein Cell. 2022. DOI: 10.1093/procel/pwac037.
  8. Zhang Y, Zheng Y, Wang S, Fan Y, Ye Y, Jing Y, Liu Z, Yang S, Xiong M, Yang K, Hu J, Che S, Chu Q, Song M, Liu GH*, Zhang W*, Ma S*, Qu J*. Single-nucleus transcriptomics reveals a gatekeeper role for FOXP1 in primate cardiac aging. Protein Cell. 2022. DOI: 10.1093/procel/pwac038.
  9. Yan H, Wang R, Ma S, Huang D, Wang S, Ren J, Lu C, Chen X, Zhang W*, Qu J*, Zhou Y*, Liu GH*. Lineage Landscape: A comprehensive database that records lineage commitment across species. Nucleic Acids Research. 2022. In press.
  10. Ji Z, Liu GH*, Qu J*. Mitochondrial sirtuins, metabolism, and aging. J Genet Genomics. 2022.49(4):287-298.
  11. Cai Y, Song W, Li J, Jing Y, Liang C, Zhang L, Zhang X, Zhang W, Liu B, An Y, Li J, Tang B, Pei S, Wu X, Liu Y, Zhuang CL, Ying Y, Dou X, Chen Y, Xiao FH, Li D, Yang R, Zhao Y, Wang Y, Wang L, Li Y, Ma S*, Wang S*, Song X*, Ren J*, Zhang L*, Wang J*, Zhang W*, Xie Z*, Qu J*, Wang J*, Xiao Y*, Tian Y*, Wang G*, Hu P*, Ye J*, Sun Y*, Mao Z*, Kong QP*, Liu Q*, Zou W*, Tian XL*, Xiao ZX*, Liu Y*, Liu JP*, Song M*, Han JJ*, Liu GH*. The landscape of aging. Science China Life Science. 2022 2:1-101.
  12. Wang W, Zheng Y, Sun S, Li W, Song M, Ji Q, Wu Z, Liu Z, Fan Y, Liu F, Li J, Esteban CR, Wang S, Zhou Q, Belmonte JCI, Zhang W*, Qu J*, Tang F*, Liu GH*. A Genome-wide CRISPR-Based Screen Identifies KAT7 as a Senescence Driver. Science Translational Medicine . 2021.13, Jan 6;13(575):eabd2655.
  13. Liang C, Liu Z, Song M, Li W, Wu Z, Wang Z, Wang Q, Wang S, Yan K, Sun L, Hishida T, Cai Y, Izpisua Belmonte JC, Guillen P, Chan P, Zhou Q, Zhang W*, Qu J*, Liu GH*. Stabilization of Heterochromatin by CLOCK Promotes Stem Cell Rejuvenation and Cartilage Regeneration. Cell Research. 2021. 31(2):187-205.
  14. Li J, Zheng Y, Yan P, Song M, Wang S, Sun L, Liu Z, Ma S, Chan P, Zhou Q, Belmonte JC, Zhang W*, Liu GH*, Tang F*, Qu J*. A Single-cell Transcriptomic Atlas of Primate Pancreatic Islet Aging. National Science Review. 2021.Feb; 8(2):nwaa127.
  15. Diao Z, Ji Q, Wu Z, Zhang W, Cai Y, Wang Z, Hu J, Liu Z, Wang Q, Bi S, Huang D, Ji Z, Liu GH*, Wang S*, Song M*, Qu J*. SIRT3 consolidates heterochromatin and counteracts senescence. Nucleic Acids Research . 2021 (Breakthrough) Mar 12;gkab161.
  16. Aging Atlas Consortium, Zhang W*, Qu J *, Bao Y*, Liu GH*. Aging Atlas: a multi-omics database for aging biology. Nucleic Acids Research . 2021. 49(D1):D825-D830.
  17. Zou Z, Long X, Zhao Q, Zheng Y, Song M, Ma S, Wang S, He Y, Esteban CR, Huang J, Yu N, Chan P, Belmonte JCI, Zhang W*, Qu J*, Liu GH*. A single-cell transcriptomic atlas of human skin aging. Developmental Cell. 2021. 56(3):383-397 (Cover story)
  18. Lei J; Wang S; Kang W; Chu Q; Liu Z; Sun L; Ji Y; Esteban CR; Yao Y; Belmonte JC; Chan P; Liu GH*; Zhang W*; Song M*; Qu J*. FOXO3-Engineered Human Mesenchymal Progenitor Cells Efficiently Promote Cardiac Repair after Myocardial Infarction. Protein Cell. 2021. 12(2):145-151.
  19. Ma S, Sun S, Geng L, Song M, Wang W, Ye Y, Ji Q, Zou Z, Wang S, He X, Li W, Rodriguez Esteban C, Long X, Guo G, Chan P, Zhou Q, Belmonte JC*, Zhang W*, Qu J* , Liu GH*. Caloric Restriction Reprograms the Single-Cell Transcriptional Landscape of Rattus Norvegicus Aging. Cell. 2020 Mar 5;180(5):984-1001.e22
  20. Wang S, Zheng Y, Li J, Yu Y, Zhang W, Song M, Liu Z, Min Z, Hu H, Jing Y, He X, Sun L, Esteban C, Chan P, Qiao J, Zhou Q, Belmonte JC*, Qu J* , Tang F*, Liu GH*. Single-Cell Transcriptomic Atlas of Primate Ovarian Aging. Cell. 2020 Feb 6;180(3):585-600.e19. (Cover Story)
  21. Zhang W, Zhang S, Yan P, Ren J, Song M, Li J, Lei J, Pan H, Wang S, Ma X, Ma S, Li H, Sun F, Wan H, Li W, Chan P, Zhou Q, Liu GH*, Tang F*, Qu J* . A Single-Cell Transcriptomic landscape of Primate Arterial Aging. Nature Communications . 2020 May 5;11(1):2202.
  22. Wu Z, Shi Y, Lu M, Song M, Yu Z, Wang J, Wang S, Ren J, Yang Y, Liu GH*, Zhang W*, Ci W*, Qu J*. METTL3 counteracts premature aging via m6A-dependent stabilization of MIS12 mRNA. Nucleic Acids Research . 2020 Nov 4;48(19):11083-11096
  23. Hu H, Ji Q, Song M, Ren J, Liu Z, Wang Z, Liu X, Yan K, Hu J, Wang S*, Zhang W*, Liu GH*, Qu J*. ZKSCAN3 counteracts cellular senescence by stabilizing heterochromatin. Nucleic Acids Research . 2020 Jun 19;48(11):6001-6018.
  24. Bi S, Liu Z, Wu Z, Wang Z, Liu X, Wang S, Ren J, Zhang W*, Song M*, Liu GH*, Qu J*. SIRT7 antagonizes human stem cell aging as a heterochromatin stabilizer. Protein Cell . 2020. 11(7):483-504.
  25. He X, Memczak S, Qu J*, Belmonte JC*, Liu GH*. Single-cell “OMICS” in aging: a young growing field. Nature Metabolism . 2020. 2: 293–302.
  26. Yan P, Liu Z, Song M, Wu Z, Xu W, Li K, Ji Q, Wang S, Liu X, Yan K, Esteban CR, Ci W, Izpisua Belmonte JC, Xie W, Ren J, Zhang W*, Sun Q*, Qu J*, Liu GH*. Genome-wide R-loop landscapes during cell differentiation and reprogramming. Cell Reports . 2020. 32(1):107870.
  27. Yan P, Li Q, Wang L, Lu P, Suzuki K, Liu Z, Lei J, Li W, Ren R, He X, Wang S, Ding J, Chan P, Zhang W, Song M, Belmonte JC, Qu J*, Tang F*, Liu GH*. FOXO3-engineered human ESC-derived vascular cells promote vascular protection and regeneration. Cell Stem Cell. 2019. 24(3):447-461 (Cover story)
  28. Wang S*, Zheng Y, Li Q, He X, Ren R, Zhang W, Song M, Hu H, Liu F, Sun G, Sun S, Liu Z, Yu Y, Chan P, Zhao GG, Zhou Q, Liu GH*, Tang F* Qu J*. Deciphering primate retinal aging at single-cell resolution. Protein Cell . 2019. 10(10):770-775.
  29. Zhang X, Liu Z, Liu X, Wang S, Zhang Y, He X, Sun S, Ma S, Shyh-Chang N, Liu F, Wang Q, Wang X, Liu L, Zhang W*, Song M*, Liu GH*, Qu J*. Telomere-Dependent and Telomere-Independent Roles of RAP1 in Regulating Human Stem Cell Homeostasis. Protein Cell . 2019. 10(9):649-667.
  30. Geng L, Liu Z, Wang S, Sun S, Ma S, Liu X, Chan P, Sun L, Song M*, Zhang W*, Liu GH*, Qu J*. Low-dose quercetin positively regulates mouse healthspan. Protein Cell. 2019. 10(10):770-775.