Mingyu Li, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Experience:

Dr. Mingyu Li got his bachelor degree and master degree from Ocean University of China in 2003 and 2006. He received his Ph.D from same school in 2010. From 2010 to 2011, he worked as assistant scientist in Third Institute of Oceanography of State Oceanic Administration. In 2011, he moved to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and began his postdoctoral research training until 2016. He joined the School of Pharmaceutical Science of Xiamen University as an associate professor in 2016. He has published high-quality papers in Cell Metabolism, Trends in Genetics, Diabetes, British Journal Pharmacology and so on. He is the associated editor of Frontiers in Endocrinology. He is also the peer reviewer of several journals, including eLife and Phytomedicine.

Research Interests:

The pancreatic alpha cells and beta cells secrete glucagon and insulin respectively, which are counter-regulatory hormones to balance the glucose levels and ensure euglycaemia. Abnormal secretion of glucagon and insulin hormones is a hallmark of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and so both cell types play a significant role in diabetes. In combination with zebrafish and mouse models, our research focus on: 1) The physiological and pathophysiological functions of pancreatic alpha cell; 2) The role of glucagon-glucagon receptor pathway in the regulation of metabolism. 3) Screening and identification of led-drugs for induction of pancreatic beta cell regeneration.

Selected Publications:(last 5 years):

1. Kang Q, Jia J, Dean ED, Yuan H, Dai C, Li Z, Jiang F, Zhang XK, Powers AC, Chen W*, Li M*. (2024) ErbB3 is required for hyperaminoacidemia induced pancreatic α cell hyperplasia. J Biol Chem, 107499.

2. Yuan H., Kang Q., Li Z., Bai X., Jia J., Han D., Wu X.*, Li M. *(2023) Crispr-Cas9 mediated complete deletion of glucagon receptor in mice display hyperglucagonemia and α-cell hyperplasia. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 643: 121-128.

3. Jia J., Kang Q., Liu S., Song Y., Wong F.S., Qiu Y.,*, Li M.* (2022) Artemether and aspterric acid induce pancreatic α cells to transdifferentiate into β cells in zebrafish. Br J Pharmacol. 179(9):1962-1977.

4. Kang, Q#., Zheng, J#., Jia, J#., Xu, Y., Bai, X., Chen, X., Zhang, X. K., Wong, F. S., Zhang, C.*, and Li, M.* (2022) Disruption of the glucagon receptor increases glucagon expression beyond α-cell hyperplasia in zebrafish. J Biol Chem, 102665.

5. Xu, Y#., Tian, J#., Kang, Q., Yuan, H., Liu, C., Li, Z., Liu, J*., and Li M.* (2022) Knockout of Nur77 leads to amino acid, lipid and glucose metabolism disorders in zebrafish. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 13:864631.

6. Bai, X#., Jia, J#., Kang, Q., Fu, Y., Zhou, Y., Zhong, Y*., Zhang, C*., and Li, M*. (2021). Integrated Metabolomics and Lipidomics Analysis Reveal Remodeling of Lipid Metabolism and Amino Acid Metabolism in Glucagon Receptor-Deficient Zebrafish. Front Cell Dev Biol 8, 605979.

7. Kang, Q., Hu, M., Jia, J., Bai, X., Liu, C., Wu, Z., Chen, W., and Li, M*. (2020) Global Transcriptomic Analysis of Zebrafish Glucagon Receptor Mutant Reveals Its Regulated Metabolic Network. Int J Mol Sci, 21(3).

8. Zhao, L., Wang, L., Aierken, R., Wang, W., Wang, X*., and Li, M*. (2020) Characterization of Insulin and Glucagon Genes and Their Producing Endocrine Cells From Pygmy Sperm Whale (Kogia breviceps). Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 11, 174.

Email:  limingyu@xmu.edu.cn