Contact Information
Email: blsong@whu.edu.cn
Lab: Prof. Bao-Liang Song
Education and Research Experience
Bao-Liang Song received a B.A. degree in Biology in 1997 from Nanjing University, China. He then entered a doctoral program at Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, China. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in 2002. From 2002 to 2005, Dr. Bao-Liang Song received his post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Drs. Joseph L. Goldstein and Michael S. Brown at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and worked with Dr. Russell DeBose-Boyd on the degradation of HMG-CoA reductase. He joined Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology as Principle Investigator in 2005. He was appointed as Chief Scientist by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China in 2008, and won China National Funds for Distinguished Young Scientists in 2009. He won Tan KahKee Young Scientist Award in Life Sciences in 2012 and Arthur Kornberg Memorial Award in 2013.
Research Interests
Cholesterol is an essential component of biological membranes, and is a precursor for synthesis of steroid hormones and bile acids. High level of cholesterol causes severe problems including coronary heart disease and stroke. Humans obtain cholesterol through de novo cholesterol biosynthesis and intestinal absorption. Understanding the regulatory mechanisms and molecular pathways of cholesterol metabolism will provide necessary basis for controlling metabolic diseases. Ongoing projects in this laboratory include:
1) Dissecting the molecular pathway of dietary cholesterol absorption.
2) Studying mechanism and function of intracellular cholesterol trafficking.
3) Uncovering the regulatory mechanisms of cholesterol metabolism.
4) Screening for small chemical compounds controlling cholesterol metabolism.
The long-term goals of these studies are to reveal the molecular mechanism of cholesterol metabolism and develop novel strategies to treat cholesterol-related diseases.
Representative Publications
(*: corresponding author)
1. Luo J, Yang H and Song BL*. Mechanisms and regulation of cholesterol homeostasis. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 21(4): 225-245, 2020
2. Xiao J#, Luo J#, Hu A, Xiao T, Li M, Kong Z, Jiang L, Zhou Z, Liao Y, Xie C, Chu B, Miao H, Li B, Shi X and Song BL*. Cholesterol transport through the peroxisome-ER membrane contacts tethered by PI(4,5)P2 and extended synaptotagmins. Sci China Life Sci., 62(9):1117-1135, 2019
3. Gong XM#, Li YF#, Luo J#, Wang JQ#, Wei J#, Wang JQ, Xiao T, Xie C, Hong J, Ning G, Shi XJ, Li BL, Qi W* and Song BL*. Gpnmb secreted from liver promotes lipogenesis in white adipose tissue and aggravates obesity and insulin resistance. Nature Metabolism, 1: 570-583, 2019
4. Zhang YY#, Fu ZY#, Wei J#, Qi W, Baituola G, Luo J, Meng YJ, Guo SY, Yin H, Jiang SY, Li YF, Miao HH, Liu Y, Wang Y, Li BL, Ma YT* and Song BL*. A LIMA1 variant promotes low plasma LDL cholesterol and decreases intestinal cholesterol absorption. Science, 360(6393):1087-1092, 2018
5. Chu BB#, Liao YC#, Qi W, Xie C, Du X, Wang J, Yang H, Miao HH, Li BL and Song BL*. Cholesterol Transport through Lysosome-Peroxisome Membrane Contacts. Cell, 161(2): 291-306, 2015