Xiangyi Lu, Ph.D.

Wayne State University
Associate Professor, Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Tel.

(313) 963-7872

Fax.

(313) 577-0082

Email:

xlu@wayne.edu

Address:

Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Wayne State University
2727 Second Avenue, Room 4000
Detroit, MI 48201-2654
     
Research Interests:    
Eukaryotic cilium is our primary research subject. The word cilium refers to a special type of hair-like cellular protrusion that contains a microtubule axonemal structure in the center. Most types of cells contain one or multiple cilia on the cell surface. Most cilia play roles in the physiology and development of the cells by functioning as sensory organelles and/or motile apparatus. Ciliary dysfunction is the underlying cause of many human diseases such as the Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD), Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS), retinal degeneration and laterality defects. Many of these cilium-related diseases affect multiple organ systems, implicating a broad role of cilia in bodily functions.

Research topics and tools:

  1. Cilium-mediated signaling mechanisms and diseases
  2. Environmental and epigenetic effects on cilial motility
  3. Drosophila genetics, cell culture systems and mice
Select Publications:    

Venglarik CJ, Gao Z and Lu X (2004) Evolutionary conservation of Drosophila polycystin-2 as a calcium-activated cation channel. Journal of American Society of Nephrology 15, 1168-1177. PMID: 15100357

Gao Z, Joseph E, Ruden DM and Lu X (2004) Drosophila Pkd2 is haploid insufficient for mediating optimal smooth muscle contractility.  Journal of Biological Chemistry 279, 14225-14231. PMID: 14732716

Gao Z, Ruden DM and Lu X (2003) PKD2 cation channel is required for directional sperm movement and male fertility.  Current Biology 13, 2175-2178. (A press release publication by Cell Press). PMID: 14680633

Sollars V, Lu X, Li X, Wang, X, Garfinkel MD and Ruden DM (2003). Evidence for an epigenetic mechanism by which Hsp90 acts as a chaperone for morphological evolution. Nature Genetics 33, 70-74. PMID: 12483213

Zhang Q and Lu X (2000) semang affects the development of a subset of cells in the Drosophila compound eye.  Mechanisms of Development  95, 113-122. PMID: 10906455

Lu X and Li Y (1999) Drosophila Src42A is a negative regulator of RTK signaling.  Developmental Biology 208, 233-243. PMID: 10075855

Zhang Q, Zheng Q and Lu X (1999) A genetic screen for modifiers of Drosophila Src42A identifies mutations in Egfr, rolled and a novel signaling gene.  Genetics 151, 697-711. PMID: 9927462

Rivera-Pomar R, Lu X, Perrimon N, Taubert H and Jackle H (1995) Activation of Posterior Gap Gene Expression in the Drosophila Blastoderm. Nature 376, 253-256. PMID: 7617036

Lu X, Melnick MB, Hsu JC and Perrimon N. (1994) Genetic and Molecular Analyses of Mutations Involved in Drosophila-raf Signal Transduction.  EMBO J. 13, 2592-2599. PMID: 8013459

Lu X, Chou TB, Williams NG, Roberts T and Perrimon N (1993) Control of cell fate determination by p21ras/Ras1, an essential component of torso signaling in Drosophila.  Genes & Development 7, 621-632. PMID: 8458578

Lu X, Perkins LA and Perrimon N (1993) The torso pathway in Drosophila: A model system to study receptor tyrosine kinase signal transduction. Development Supplement, 47-56. PMID: 8049487