Dr. Xiaoping Wu obtained her Bachelor of Science and PhD in Pharmacology at the China Pharmaceutical University and the University of Hong Kong (HKU), respectively. She received her post-doctoral training in the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy and the State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology (SKLPB) at HKU. She is currently a research assistant professor in this department. Her research focuses on obesity-related metabolic diseases, especially adipose tissue biology and the role of adipokines in multi-organ crosstalk.

The global rise in obesity has led to a surge in related comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers, posing a significant threat to public health. My research integrates pathophysiology and pharmacology to address obesity-related metabolic diseases, structured in three interconnected pillars:

• Disease pathophysiology: the pathogenesis of obesity (adipose dysregulation), diabetes (β-cell dysfunction), and liver disease (MASH/fibrosis)
• Mechanistic exploration: multi-organ crosstalk, cell-cell crosstalk (immunopathogenesis), and intracellular signaling (e.g., mitochondrial-nuclear communication)
• Therapeutic translation: Target validation (e.g., FABP4 & CHCHD10) and drug development

Selected Publications

• Wu, X., Zhang, Z., Li, J., Zong, J., Yuan, L., Shu, L., ... & Hoo, R. L. (2025). Chchd10: A Novel Metabolic Sensor Modulating Adipose Tissue Homeostasis. Advanced Science. (IF: 14.1)
  * This paper provides pioneering evidence that disruption of the p62-Chchd10 axis is a critical event impairing the adaptive capacity of adipose tissue.
• Wu, X., Cheong, L. Y., Yuan, L., Jin, L., Zhang, Z., Xiao, Y., ... & Shu, L. (2024). Islet‐Resident Memory T Cells Orchestrate the Immunopathogenesis of Type 1 Diabetes through the FABP4‐CXCL10 Axis. Advanced Science. (IF: 15.1)
  * This paper presents the first mechanistic evidence that TRM cells contribute to pancreatic islet destruction.
• Wu, X., Shu, L., Zhang, Z., Li, J., Zong, J., Cheong, L.Y., Ye, D., Lam, K.S., Song, E., Wang, C. Xu, A., and Hoo, R. L. (2021). Adipocyte fatty acid binding protein promotes the onset and progression of liver fibrosis via mediating the crosstalk between liver sinusoidal endothelial cells and hepatic stellate cells. Advanced Science. (IF: 17.52)
• Zong J*., Wu X*., Huang X., Yuan L., Yuan K., Zhang Z., Jiang M., Ping Z., Cheong LY., Xu A., Hoo R. (2025) Adipocyte-derived shed Syndecan-4 suppresses lipolysis via FGF2-FGFR1 axis leading to impaired adipose tissue browning and adaptive thermogenesis. Molecular Metabolism. (IF: 7.0)
• Cheng, Y.*, Wu, X*., Nie, X., Wu, Y., Zhang, C., Lee, S. M. Y., ... & Li, J. (2022). Natural compound glycyrrhetinic acid protects against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway. Phytomedicine. (IF: 6.66)
• Liu, Z.*, Wu, X*., Dai, K., Li, R., Zhang, J., Sheng, D., Lee, S.M.Y., Leung, G.P.H., Zhou, G.C. and Li, J. (2022). The new andrographolide derivative AGS-30 induces apoptosis in human colon cancer cells by activating a ROS-dependent JNK signaling pathway. Phytomedicine. (IF: 6.66)
• Li, H. L.*, Wu, X*., Xu, A., and Hoo, R. L. C. (2021). A-FABP in metabolic diseases and the therapeutic implications: an update. International journal of molecular sciences. (IF: 5.92)
• Shu, L., Hoo, R.L., Wu, X., Pan, Y., Lee, I.P., Cheong, L.Y., Bornstein, S.R., Rong, X., Guo, J., and Xu, A. (2017). A-FABP mediates adaptive thermogenesis by promoting intracellular activation of thyroid hormones in brown adipocytes. Nature Communications. (IF: 14.92)
• Cheong, L.Y., Wang, B., Wang, Q., Jin, L., Kwok, K.H., Wu, X., Shu, L., Lin, H., Chung, S.K., Cheng, K.K. and Hoo, R.L., (2023). Fibroblastic reticular cells in lymph nodes potentiate white adipose tissue being through neuro-immune crosstalk in male mice. Nature Communications. (IF: 17.694)
• Yang, K., Velagapudi, S., Akhmedov, A., Kraler, S., Lapikova-Bryhinska, T., Schmiady, M. O., Wu, X., ... & Lüscher, T. F. (2023). Chronic SIRT1 supplementation in diabetic mice improves endothelial function by suppressing oxidative stress. Cardiovascular Research. (IF: 14.239)
• Zhang, P., Liu, D., Wu, L., Wu, X., Yan, K., Fan, M., Zou, D., Song, E., Jiang, Y., Xu, Y. and Wu, X. ... & Ye, D., (2025). Neutrophil serine proteases NE and PR3 controlled by the miR-223/STAT3 axis potentiate MASH and liver fibrosis. Hepatology. (IF: 13)
• Xiao, Y., Shu, L., Wu, X., Liu, Y., Cheong, L.Y., Liao, B., Xiao, X., Hoo, R.L., Zhou, Z., and Xu, A. (2021). Fatty acid binding protein 4 promotes autoimmune diabetes by recruitment and activation of pancreatic islet macrophages. JCI insight. (IF: 9.48)
• Li, J., Li, R., Wu, X., Hoo, R.L.C., Lee, S.M.Y., Cheung, T.M.Y., Ho, B.S.Y., and Leung, G.P.H. (2021). Amauroderma rugosum Protects PC12 Cells against 6-OHDA-Induced Neurotoxicity through Antioxidant and Antiapoptotic Effects. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. (IF: 7.31)
• Shu, L., Zhong, L., Xiao, Y., Wu, X., Liu, Y., Jiang, X., Tang, T., Hoo, R., Zhou, Z., and Xu, A. (2020). Neutrophil elastase triggers the development of autoimmune diabetes by exacerbating innate immune responses in pancreatic islets of non-obese diabetic mice. Clinical Science. (IF: 5.22)

Selected Awards & Presentations

Invited Speaker

• 7th Symposium on Endocrine and Metabolic Pathophysiology (China, 2024)
• 1st Greater Bay Area Cardiovascular & Metabolic Diseases Conference (China, 2024)

Awards

• Young Investigator Award, 15th International Symposium on Healthy Aging (Hong Kong, 2021)
• Best Abstract Award, 23rd Medical Research Conference (Hong Kong, 2018)

Oral Presentation

• The 30th European Congress on Obesity (Ireland, 2023)
• 38th Annual Scientific Meeting & Annual General Meeting - Advances in Diabetes and Metabolism (Hong Kong, 2021)

Poster presentation

• Croucher Summer Course [arterial ageing: from mechanisms to applications] (Hong Kong, 2023)
• 78th American Diabetes Association (the USA, 2018)
• Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (the USA, 2016)

Press Release

• Newspaper column “脂肪因子與肝纖維化” in AM730; 11/2021
• Press release: HKUMed discovers a novel mediator of liver fibrosis and its underlying mechanism that can be a new therapeutic target (2021-04-12)
• 肝纖維化可致肝癌 港大發現新致病因子助研新治療靶點; Urbanlifehk.com (2021-04-13)
• Press release “组织驻留记忆T细胞在一型糖尿病中发挥关键致病作用，为T1D药物研发提供新线索” on iNature (public website) 2024
• Newspaper column “甜蜜的真相：蔗糖攝取量與二型糖尿病” in AM730; 01/2025
• Press release HKUMed unveils mechanisms of Chchd10 regulation in adipose tissue homeostasis, key to effective obesity management has been published in 15 portal media and 1 newspaper in 2025.