Xiangyun Wei, PhD

  • Associate Professor of Ophthalmology,
  • Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, and Developmental Biology
  • Retinal Development Laboratory
  • University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Academic Affiliation

Department of Ophthalmology, 
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics,

Department of Developmental Biology,
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine 
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

 

Education & Training

  • University of Notre Dame Post-doc 2002-2003 Developmental biology.
  • Harvard Medical School/MEEI, Boston Post-doc 1998-2002 Developmental biology
  • SUNY/Buffalo Ph.D. 1993-1998 Cell Biology

Representative Publications

  1. X. Wei, J. Samarabandu, R.S. Devdhar, A. Siegel. R. Acharya, R. Berezney. (1998) Segregation of transcription and replication sites into higher order domains. Science. 281:1502-1505.  DOI: 10.1126/science.281.5382.1502
  2. M. Patturajan*, X. Wei *, R. Berezney, J. L. Corden. (1998). A nuclear matrix protein interacts with the phosphorylated C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II. Molecular and Cellular Biology. 18:2406-2415.  * The first two authors contributed equally to this work. DOI: 10.1126/science.281.5382.1502
  3. X. Wei, S. Somanathan, J. Samarabandu and R. Berezney. (1999). Three-dimensional visualization of transcription sites and their association with splicing factor-rich nuclear speckles. Journal of Cell Biology 146:543-558. DOI: 10.1083/jcb.146.3.54
  4. X. Wei, and J. Malicki. (2002). nagie oko, encoding a MAGUK-family protein, is essential for cellular patterning of the retina. Nature Genetics. 31:150-157. DOI: 10.1038/ng883
  5. J. Zou, K. Lathrop, M. Sun, X. Wei. (2008) Intact RPE maintained by Nok is essential for retinal epithelial polarity and cellular patterning in zebrafish. Journal of Neuroscience. 28(50):13684 –13695.  DOI: JNEUROSCI.4333-08.2008
  6. X. Yang, J. Zou, D. Hyde, L. Davidson, and X. Wei. (2009) Stepwise maturation of apicobasal polarity of the neuroepithelium is essential for vertebrate neurulation. Journal of Neuroscience. 29:11426-11440. JNEUROSCI.2009                                        
  7. J. Zou, X. Wang, and X. Wei. (2012) Crb apical polarity proteins maintain zebrafish retinal cone mosaics via intercellular binding of their extracellular domains. Developmental Cell. 22, 1261–1274. DOI: devcel.2012.03.007
  8. W. Fang, C. Guo, X. Wei. (2017) Rainbow Enhancers Regulate Restrictive Transcription in Teleost Green, Red, and Blue Cones. Journal of Neuroscience. 37(11):2834-2848.  A cover story.  DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3421-16.2017
  9. C. Guo, J. Zou, Y. Wen, W. Fang, DB. Stolz, M. Sun, X. Wei. (2018) Apical Cell-Cell Adhesions Reconcile Symmetry and Asymmetry in Zebrafish Neurulation. iScience. 3:63-85.   A cover story. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2018.04.007
  10. C. Guo, C. Deveau, C. Zhang, R. Nelson, X. Wei. (2020) Zebrafish Crb1, Localizing Uniquely to the Cell Membranes around Cone Photoreceptor Axonemes, Alleviates Light Damage to Photoreceptors and Modulates Cones' Light Responsiveness. Journal of Neuroscience. 40(37):7065-7079.  A cover story. DOI: JNEUROSCI.0497-20.2020
  11. L. Zhang, X. Wei. (2022) The Roles of Par3, Par6, and aPKC Polarity Proteins in Normal Neurodevelopment and in Neurodegenerative and Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Journal of Neuroscience. 15;42(24):4774-4793. JNEUROSCI.2022
  12. L. Zhang, X. Wei. (2022) Orientational cell adhesions (OCAs) for tissue morphogenesis. Trends in Cell Biology. 32(12): 975-978. DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2022.07.002
  13. L. Zhang, X. Wei. (2023) Stepwise modulation of apical orientational cell adhesions for vertebrate neurulation. Biological Reviews (Cambridge Philosophical Society) 2023 Aug 3. DOI: 10.1111/brv.13006
  14. L. Zhang, X. Wei. (2023) SynCAMs in Normal Vertebrate Neural Development and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: from the Perspective of the OCAs. Molecular Neurobiology. Aug 22. DOI: 10.1007/s12035-023-03579-2

Research Interest Summary

Retinal Development Laboratory

Research Interests

Lab Personnel

 

Multicellular organisms arrange cells in special patterns to form distinct structures through a set of developmental instructions that we do not fully understand. In my laboratory, we use the zebrafish retina as a model system to study the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular pattern formation in the central nervous system.

The vertebrate retina develops from a single sheet of neuroepithelial cells, which later differentiate and reorganize into layered structures during retinal neurogenesis. Each retinal layer is composed of specific neuronal classes and executes distinct functions. The molecular mechanisms that control retinal pattern formation remain largely unknown.

To understand how retinal cells organize, my lab uses a variety of experimental approaches that involve Genetics, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, and Developmental Biology. Our research is currently focused on the following areas: epithelial polarity in retinal morphogenesis; cell-cell adhesion in balancing tissue cohesion and cellular mobility; and cell nuclear structure in regulating retinal gene expression.

Research Grants

NIH RO1 EY016099
PI: Xiangyun Wei
Sept 30, 2005 - Aug 31, 2013

Research to Prevent Blindness Lew R. Wasserman Merit Award
PI: Xiangyun Wei
2011