Ning Wang, PhD

Professional Background

I obtained my PhD degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Supported by the Fund for Medical Discovery award and K99/R00 Pathway to Independence award, I trained at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston as a postdoctoral fellow and as an Instructor. In 2016, I was promoted as an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School. I joined KUMC in 2018 and was promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure in 2023.

• BS, Chemistry, Peking University, Beijing, China
• PhD, Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
• Post Doctoral Fellowship, Germ Cell Biology, Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Research

Overview

We are interested in how mammalian germ cells commit meiosis. Meiotic initiation is a key feature of sexual reproduction that launches an intricate chromosomal program involving DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs), homolog pairing, cohesion, synapsis, and recombination. Vertebrate gene Stra8 is an essential gatekeeper of meiotic initiation. However, the molecular role of STRA8 and its target genes remain elusive. Using mouse spermatogenesis as a model, we recently reported that STRA8 suppresses autophagy by repressing the transcription of a nuclear hormone receptor gene Nr1d1, and in turn, silencing the expression of Ulk1, a gene essential for autophagy initiation. Given that autophagy is critical for protein and cellular organelle recycling and for preventing genomic instability, our study suggests that this newly demonstrated function of STRA8, as a suppressor of autophagy, may be an important mechanistic feature of its role in meiotic initiation. Currently, we are using a combination of molecular, cellular, and genetic approaches to investigate autophagic regulation of meiotic initiation during germline development.

Recently, driven by our interest in DSBs, we have established a new research focus on Alzheimer's disease (AD). Our study proposes that in AD, the accumulation of DSBs at ectopic genomic loci may contribute to an aberrant upregulation of gene expression. Notably, our findings suggest that, despite an overall increase in DNA breaks in AD brains, adaptive DNA breaks at nervous system genes are diminished. This could potentially contribute to impaired neuron function and cognition in AD patients

• Zhang, Xiaoyu, Wang, Ning. 2024. Induction of meiotic initiation in long-term mouse spermatogonial stem cells under retinoid acid and nutrient restriction conditions. Methods in Molecular Biology, 2770, 113-121. https://link.springer.com/protocol/10.1007/978-1-0716-3698-5_9
• Zhang, Xiaoyu, Haeri, Mohammad, Swerdlow, Russell., H, Wang, Ning. 2024. Loss of Adaptive DNA Breaks in Alzheimer’s Disease Brains. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 97 (4). https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad231303
• Moreno-Irusta, Ayelen, Dominguez, Esteban., M., Iqbal, Khursheed, Zhang, Xiaoyu, Wang, Ning, Soares, Michael., J.. 2024. Taf7l regulates early stages of male germ cell development. The FASEB Journal, 38 (1)
• Zhang, Xiaoyu, Liu, Yan, Sosa, Froylan , Gunewardena, Sumedha, Crawford, Peter., A., C Zielen, Amanda, Orwig, Kyle ., E., Wang, Ning. 2023. Transcriptional Metabolic Reprograming Implements Meiotic Fate Decision in Mammalian Testicular Germ Cells. Cell Reports, 42 (7), 112749. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(23)00760-X
• Zhang, Xiaoyu, Liu, Yan, Huang, Ming, Gunewardena, Sumedha, Haeri, Mohammad, Swerdlow, Russell, Wang, Ning. 2023. Landscape of Double-Stranded DNA Breaks in Postmortem Brains from Alzheimer’s Disease and Non-Demented Individuals. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 94 (2). https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad230316
• Zhang, Xiaoyu, Gunewardena, Sumedha, Wang, Ning. 2021. Nutrient restriction synergizes with retinoic acid to induce mammalian meiotic initiation in vitro. Nature Communications, 12, 1758. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22021-6
• Ferder, Ianina, Fung, Leslie, Ohguchi, Yasuyo, Zhang, Xiaoyu, Lassen, Kara., G, Capen, Diane, Brown, Dennis, Xaiver, Ramnik., J, Wang, Ning. 2019. Meiotic gatekeeper STRA8 suppresses autophagy by repressing Nr1d1 expression during spermatogenesis. PLOS Genetics. https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1008084
• Xiong, Mulin, Ferder, Ianina., C, Ohguchi, Yasuyo, Wang, Ning. 2015. Quantitative analysis of male germline stem cell differentiation reveals a role for the p53-mTORC1 pathway in spermatogonial maintenance. Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.), 14 (18), 2905-13
• Ferder, Ianina., C, Wang, Ning. 2015. Hypermaintenance and hypofunction of aged spermatogonia: insight from age-related increase of Plzf expression.. Oncotarget, 6 (18), 15891-901