My research has been focused on airway epithelium physiology and cell biology in respiratory disease, particularly the role of Th2/15LO1/autophagy/ferroptosis as related to asthma pathogenesis. 15-Lipoxygenase 1 (15LO1) is one of the several key enzymes in arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism. We were the first to identify that 15LO1 competes with and displaces Raf-1 from its binding with Phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein 1 (PEBP1), which plays a critical role in asthma pathogenesis. Our ultimate goal is to identify the modification of 15LO1/PEBP1 interaction as a novel therapeutic approach to dampen inflammatory processes in asthma and other diseases.
2003 Fudan University, Shanghai, China. PhD
Mingzhu Jin, Simon Watkins, Yolanda Larriba, Callen Wallace, Claudette St. Croix Xiuxia Zhou,J Zhao, Shyamal Peddada, Sally E. Wenzel. Real-time imaging of asthmatic epithelial cells identifies migratory deficiencies under type-2 conditions.JACI, 2022 Feb, 149(2): 579-588.
Tadao Nagasaki, Alexander J. Schuyler,J Zhao, Svetlana N. Samovich, Kazuhiro Yamada, Yanhan Deng, Scott P. Ginebaugh, Stephanie A. Christenson, Prescott G. Woodruff, John V. Fahy, John B. Trudeau, Detcho Stoyanovsky, Anuradha Ray, Yulia Y. Tyurina, Valerian E. Kagan, and Sally E. Wenzel. 15LO1 dictates glutathione redox changes in asthmatic airway epithelium to worsen type 2 inflammation.J Clin Invest. 2022;132(1):e151685.
Zhao J, Haider H. Dar, Yanhan Deng, Claudette M. St Croix, Zhipeng Li, Yoshinori Minami, Indira H. Shrivastava, Yulia Y. Tyurina, Emily Etling, Joel C. Rosenbaum, Tadao Nagasaki, John B. Trudeau, Simon C. Watkins, Ivet Bahar, Hülya Bayir, Andy P. VanDemark, Valerian E. Kagan and Sally E Wenzel. PEBP1 acts as a rheostat between prosurvival autophagy and ferroptotic death in asthmatic epithelial cells.PNAS 2020 June 8.
Sudipta Das, Claudette St. Croix, Misty Good, Jie Chen,J Zhao, Sanmei Hu, Mark Ross, Michael M. Myerburg, Joseph M. Pilewski, John Williams, Sally E. Wenzel, Jay K. Kolls, Anuradha Ray, Prabir Ray. Interleukin-22 Inhibits Respiratory Syncytial Virus Production By Blocking Virus Mediated Subversion of Cellular Autophagy. ISCIENCE. 2020 June 16.
Li Z, Zeng M, Deng Y,Zhao J, Zhou X, Trudeau JB, Goldschmidt E, Moore JA, Chu H, Zhang W, Yin S, Liu Z, Di YP, Lee SE, Wenzel SE. 15-Lipoxygenase 1 in nasal polyps promotes CCL26/eotaxin 3 expression through extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation. JACI, 2019 Nov;144(5):1228-1241.
Anthonymuthu TS, Kenny EM, Shrivastava I, Tyurina YY, Hier ZE, Ting HC, Dar HH, Tyurin VA, Nesterova A, Amoscato AA, Mikulska-Ruminska K, Rosenbaum JC, Mao G,Zhao J, Conrad M4, Kellum JA, Wenzel SE, VanDemark AP, Bahar I, Kagan VE, Bayir H. Empowerment of 15-Lipoxygenase Catalytic competence in Selective Oxidation of Membrane ETE-PE to Ferroptotic Death Signals, HpETE-PE.J Am Chem Soc. 2018 Dec 26;140(51):17835-17839.
Wenzel SE, Tyurina YY,Zhao J, St. Croix CM, Mao G, Tyurin VA, Anthonymuthu TS, Kapralov AA, Mikulska-Ruminska K, Shrivastava IH, Kenny E, Yang Q, Dar HH, Qu F, Amoscato AA, Sparvero LJ, Emlet DR, Rosenbaum JC, Watkins SC, VanDemark AP, Kellum JA, Minami Y, Bahar I, Bayir H, Kagan VE. PEBP1 Wardens Ferroptosis by Enabling Lipoxygenase Generation of Lipid Death Signals.Cell. 2017,19;171(3):628-641. PMID: 29053969.
Zhao J*, Minami Y, Etling E, Coleman JM, Lauder SN, Tyrrell V, Aldrovandi M, O'Donnell V, Claesson HE, Kagan V, Wenzel S. Preferential Generation of 15-HETE-PE Induced by IL-13 Regulates Goblet Cell Differentiation in Human Airway Epithelial Cells.Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2017 Dec;57(6):692-701. PMID: 28723225.
Albano GD,Zhao J*, Etling EB, Park SY, Hu H, Trudeau JB, Profita M, Wenzel SE. IL-13 desensitizes �2-adrenergic receptors in human airway epithelial cells through a 15-lipoxygenase/G protein receptor kinase 2 mechanism.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2015 May;135(5):1144-53. PMID: 25819984.
Zhao J*, Wenzel S. Interactions of RKIP with inflammatory signaling pathways.Crit Rev Oncog. 2014;19(6):497-504. PMID: 25597359.
Di YP,Zhao J, Harper R. Cigarette smoke induces MUC5AC protein expression through the activation of Sp1.J Biol Chem. 2012 Aug 10;287(33):27948-58. PMID: 22700966.
Zhao J, O'Donnell VB, Balzar S, St Croix CM, Trudeau JB, Wenzel SE. 15-Lipoxygenase 1 interacts with phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein to regulate MAPK signaling in human airway epithelial cells. PNAS. 2011 Aug 23;108(34):14246-51. PMID: 21831839.
Zhao J*, Maskrey B, Balzar S, Chibana K, Mustovich A, Hu H, Trudeau JB, O'Donnell V, Wenzel SE. Interleukin-13-induced MUC5AC is regulated by 15-lipoxygenase 1 pathway in human bronchial epithelial cells.Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2009 May 1;179(9):782-90. PMID: 19218191.
Zhao J, Harper R, Barchowsky A, Di YP. Identification of multiple MAPK-mediated transcription factors regulated by tobacco smoke in airway epithelial cells.Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2007 Aug;293(2):L480-90. PubMed PMID: 17496060
