Jian Xu, PhD

• 2022 – present – Associate Professor – Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
• 2013 – 2022 – Assistant Professor – Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
• 2011 – 2013 – Research Track Faculty – Dept. Cell and Tissue Biology, University of California, San Francisco, CA
• 2007 – 2010 – Post-doctoral Fellow – University of California, San Francisco CA
• 2006 – 2007 – Post-doctoral Fellow – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati OH

• 2012 – FASEB Biological Methylation Conference Best Seminar Award
• 2011-2014 – American Heart Association National Scientist Development Grant
• 2011 – Tokyo Global Center of Excellence Retreat Poster Award
• 2009-2010 – Foundation Independent Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
• 2007-2009 – American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship
• 2003 – University of Cincinnati Graduate Student Poster Forum, Poster Award
• 2001-2003 – American Heart Association Pre-doctoral Fellowship
• 2000 – Peking University Health Science Center Undergraduate Dissertation Award
• 1995-2000 – Peking University Outstanding Student Scholarship

Protein methylation pathways that control genetic susceptibility to environmental pollutants in the occurrence of craniofacial defects – Grant #5 R01 DE030928

• Principal Investigator: Jian Xu, Ph.D.
• Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
• Period: 07/01/2021-06/30/2026
• Goal: The major goal of this project is to dissect genetic and environmental mechanisms regulating craniofacial tissue morphogenesis and stress responses.

1. Zhang M, Guo T, Pei F, Feng J, Jing J, Xu J, Yamada T, Ho T-V, Du J, Sehgal P, Chai Y. ARID1B maintains mesenchymal stem cell quiescence via inhibition of BCL11B-mediated non-canonical Activin signaling. Nat Commun 15, 4614 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48285-2.

2. Feng J, Han X, Yuan Y, Cho CK, Janečková E, Guo T, Pareek S, Rahman MS, Zheng B, Bi J, Jing J, Zhang M, Xu J, Ho TV, Chai Y. (2022)TGF-β signaling and Creb5 cooperatively regulate Fgf18 to control pharyngeal muscle development. eLife. 2022 Dec 21;11:e80405. doi: 10.7554/eLife.80405. PMID: 36542062; PMCID: PMC9771365. 

3. Guo T, Han X, He J, Feng J, Jing J, Janečková E, Lei J, Ho TV, Xu J, Chai Y. (2022) KDM6B interacts with TFDP1 to activate P53 signaling in regulating mouse palatogenesis. eLife. 2022 Feb 25;11:e74595. doi: 10.7554/eLife.74595. PMID: 35212626; PMCID: PMC9007587.

4. Xu J, Richard S. (2021) Cellular pathways influenced by protein arginine methylation: Implications for cancer. Mol Cell. 2021 Nov 4;81(21):4357-4368. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2021.09.011. Epub 2021 Oct 6. PMID: 34619091; PMCID:PMC8571027.

5. Qin J, Xu J. (2021) Arginine methylation in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. FEBS J. 2021 Aug 6. doi: 10.1111/febs.16152. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34358413.

6. Du J, Jing J, Chen S, Yuan Y, Feng J, Ho TV, Sehgal P, Xu J, Jiang X, Chai Y. (2021) Arid1a regulates cell cycle exit of transit-amplifying cells through inhibiting the Aurka-Cdk1 axis in mouse incisor. Development. 2021 Apr 15;148(8):dev198838. doi: 10.1242/dev.198838. Epub 2021 Apr 16. PMID: 33766930; PMCID: PMC8077510.

7. Du J, Jing J, Yuan Y, Feng J, Han X, Chen S, Li X, Peng W, Xu J, Ho TV, Jiang X, Chai Y. (2021) Arid1a-Plagl1-Hh signaling is indispensable for differentiation-associated cell cycle arrest of tooth root progenitors. Cell Rep. 2021 Apr 6;35(1):108964. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108964. PMID: 33826897; PMCID:PMC8132592.

8. Wu J, Chen X, Sehgal P, Zhang T, Jackson-Weaver O, Gou Y, Bautch V, Frenkel B, Sun H, Xu J. (2021) Arginine methylation of R81 in Smad6 confines BMP-induced Smad1 signaling. J Biol Chem. 2021 Mar 2;296:100496. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100496. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33667543; PMCID: PMC8050389.

9. Fan Z, He L, Li M, Cao R, Deng M, Ping F, Liang X, He Y, Wu T, Tao X, Xu J, Cheng B, Xia J. (2020) Targeting methyltransferase PRMT5 retards the carcinogenesis and metastasis of HNSCC via epigenetically inhibiting Twist1 transcription. Neoplasia. 2020 Nov;22(11):617-629. doi: 10.1016/j.neo.2020.09.004. Epub 2020 Oct 10. PMID: 33045527; PMCID: PMC7557877.

10. Jackson-Weaver O, Ungvijanpunya N, Yuan Y, Qian J, Gou Y, Wu J, Shen H, Chen Y, Li M, Richard S, Chai Y, Sucov HM, Xu J. (2020) PRMT1-p53 Pathway Controls Epicardial EMT and Invasion. Cell Rep. 2020 Jun 9;31(10):107739. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107739. PMID: 32521264; PMCID: PMC7425665.

11. Zhang W, Ma L, Yang M, Shao Q, Xu J, Lu Z, Zhao Z, Chen R, Chai Y, Chen JF. (2020) Cerebral organoid and mouse models reveal a RAB39b-PI3K-mTOR pathway-dependent dysregulation of cortical development leading to macrocephaly/autism phenotypes. Genes Dev. 2020 Apr 1;34(7-8):580-597. doi: 10.1101/gad.332494.119. Epub 2020 Feb 27. PubMed PMID: 32115408; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7111266.

12. Hartel NG, Chew B, Qin J, Xu J, Graham NA. (2019) Deep Protein Methylation Profiling by Combined Chemical and Immunoaffinity Approaches Reveals Novel PRMT1 Targets. Mol Cell Proteomics. 2019 Nov;18(11):2149-2164. doi: 10.1074/mcp.RA119.001625. Epub 2019 Aug 26. PMID: 31451547; PMCID: PMC6823857.

13. Zhang W, Yang SL, Yang M, Herrlinger S, Shao Q, Collar JL, Fierro E, Shi Y, Liu A, Lu H, Herring BE, Guo ML, Buch S, Zhao Z, Xu J, Lu Z, Chen JF. (2019) Modeling microcephaly with cerebral organoids reveals a WDR62-CEP170-KIF2A pathway promoting cilium disassembly in neural progenitors. Nat Commun. 2019 Jun 13;10(1):2612. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-10497-2. PubMed PMID: 31197141; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6565620.

14. Liang X, Deng M, Zhang C, Ping F, Wang H, Wang Y, Fan Z, Ren X, Tao X, Wu T, Xu J, Cheng B, Xia J. (2019) Combined class I histone deacetylase and mTORC1/C2 inhibition suppresses the initiation and recurrence of oral squamous cell carcinomas by repressing SOX2. Cancer Lett. 2019 Jul 10;454:108-119. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2019.04.010. Epub 2019 Apr 11. PMID: 30981761.

15. Katsuno Y, Qin J, Oses-Prieto J, Wang H, Jackson-Weaver O, Zhang T, Lamouille S, Wu J, Burlingame A, Xu J, Derynck R. (2018) Arginine methylation of SMAD7 by PRMT1 in TGF-β-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition and epithelial stem-cell generation. J Biol Chem. 2018 Aug 24;293(34):13059-13072. doi:10.1074/jbc.RA118.002027. Epub 2018 Jun 15. PubMed PMID: 29907569; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6109915.

16. Li J, Yuan Y, He J, Feng J, Han X, Jing J, Ho TV, Xu J, Chai Y. (2018) Constitutive activation of hedgehog signaling adversely affects epithelial cell fate during palatal fusion. Dev Biol. 2018 Sep 1;441(1):191-203. doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2018.07.003. Epub 2018 Jul 5. PubMed PMID: 29981310; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6152919.

17. Gou Y, Li J, Jackson-Weaver O, Wu J, Zhang T, Gupta R, Cho I, Ho TV, Chen Y, Li M, Richard S, Wang J, Chai Y, Xu J. (2018) Protein Arginine Methyltransferase PRMT1 Is Essential for Palatogenesis. J Dent Res. 2018 Dec;97(13):1510-1518. doi: 10.1177/0022034518785164. Epub 2018 Jul 9. PubMed PMID: 29986157; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6728548.

18. Gou Y, Li J, Wu J, Gupta R, Cho I, Ho TV, Chai Y, Merrill A, Wang J, Xu J. (2018) Prmt1 regulates craniofacial bone formation upstream of Msx1. Mech Dev. 2018 Aug;152:13-20. doi: 10.1016/j.mod.2018.05.001. Epub 2018 May 1. PubMed PMID: 29727702.

19. Wu J, Jackson-Weaver O, Xu J. (2018) The TGFβ superfamily in cardiac dysfunction. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai). 2018 Apr 1;50(4):323-335. doi:10.1093/abbs/gmy007. Review. PubMed PMID: 29462261; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC6676786.

20. Zhang T, Wu J, Ungvijanpunya N, Jackson-Weaver O, Gou Y, Feng J, Ho TV, Shen Y, Liu J, Richard S, Jin J, Hajishengallis G, Chai Y, Xu J. (2018) Smad6 Methylation Represses NFκB Activation and Periodontal Inflammation. J Dent Res. 2018 Jul;97(7):810-819. doi: 10.1177/0022034518755688. Epub 2018 Feb 8. PubMed PMID: 29420098; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6728583.

21. Feng J, Jing J, Li J, Zhao H, Punj V, Zhang T, Xu J, Chai Y. (2017) BMP signaling orchestrates a transcriptional network to control the fate of mesenchymal stem cells in mice. Development. 2017 Jul 15;144(14):2560-2569. doi:10.1242/dev.150136. Epub 2017 Jun 2. PubMed PMID: 28576771; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC5536932.

22. Zhou L, Dai H, Wu J, Zhou M, Yuan H, Du J, Yang L, Wu X, Xu H, Hua Y, Xu J, Zheng L, Shen B. (2017) Role of FEN1 S187 phosphorylation in counteracting oxygen-induced stress and regulating postnatal heart development. FASEB J. 2017 Jan;31(1):132-147. doi: 10.1096/fj.201600631R. PubMed PMID: 27694478; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5161519.

23. Budi EH, Xu J, Derynck R. (2016) Regulation of TGF-beat Receptors. Methods Mol Biol. 2016;1344:1-33. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2966-5_1. PubMed PMID: 26520115.

24. Ma M, Li P, Shen H, Estrada KD, Xu J, Kumar SR, Sucov HM. (2016) Dysregulated endocardial TGFbeta signaling and mesenchymal transformation result in heart outflow tract septation failure. Dev Biol. 2016 Jan 1;409(1):272-6. doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2015.09.021. Epub 2015 Oct 29. PubMed PMID: 26522286; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4742370.

25. Gou Y, Zhang T, Xu J. (2015) Transcription Factors in Craniofacial Development: From Receptor Signaling to Transcriptional and Epigenetic Regulation. Curr Top Dev Biol. 2015;115:377-410. doi: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2015.07.009. Epub 2015 Oct 6. PubMed PMID: 26589933.

26. Yamaguchi Y, Cavallero S, Patterson M, Shen H, Xu J, Kumar SR, Sucov HM. (2015) Adipogenesis and epicardial adipose tissue: a novel fate of the epicardium induced by mesenchymal transformation and PPARγ activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Feb 17;112(7):2070-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1417232112. Epub 2015 Feb 2. PubMed PMID: 25646471; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4343131.

27. Xu J, Derynck R. (2014) Does Smad6 methylation control BMP signaling in cancer? Cell Cycle. 2014 Apr 15;13(8):1209-10. doi: 10.4161/cc.28380. Epub 2014 Mar 5. PubMed PMID: 24621505; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4049950.

28. Lamouille S, Xu J, Derynck R. (2014) Molecular mechanisms of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2014 Mar;15(3):178-96. doi: 10.1038/nrm3758. Review. PubMed PMID: 24556840; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4240281.

29. Xu J, Wang AH, Oses-Prieto J, Makhijani K, Katsuno Y, Pei M, Yan L, Zheng YG, Burlingame A, Brückner K, Derynck R. (2013) Arginine Methylation Initiates BMP-Induced Smad Signaling. Mol Cell. 2013 Jul 11;51(1):5-19. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2013.05.004. PubMed PMID: 23747011; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC3951972.

30. Heineke J, Auger-Messier M, Correll RN, Xu J, Benard MJ, Yuan W, Drexler H, Parise LV, Molkentin JD. (2010) CIB1 is a regulator of pathological cardiac hypertrophy. Nat Med. 2010 Aug;16(8):872-9. doi: 10.1038/nm.2181. Epub 2010 Jul 18. PubMed PMID: 20639889; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2917617.

31. Heineke J, Auger-Messier M, Xu J, Sargent M, York A, Welle S, Molkentin JD. (2010) Genetic deletion of myostatin from the heart prevents skeletal muscle atrophy in heart failure. Circulation. 2010 Jan 26;121(3):419-25. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.882068. Epub 2010 Jan 11. PubMed PMID: 20065166;PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2823256.

32. Liu C, Xu P, Lamouille S, Xu J, Derynck R. (2009) TACE-mediated ectodomain shedding of the type I TGF-beta receptor downregulates TGF-beta signaling. Mol Cell. 2009 Jul 10;35(1):26-36. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2009.06.018. PubMed PMID: 19595713; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2740991.

33. Xu J, Lamouille S, Derynck R. (2009) TGF-beta-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Cell Res. 2009 Feb;19(2):156-72. doi: 10.1038/cr.2009.5. Review. PubMed PMID: 19153598; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4720263.

34. Heineke J, Auger-Messier M, Xu J, Oka T, Sargent MA, York A, Klevitsky R, Vaikunth S, Duncan SA, Aronow BJ, Robbins J, Crombleholme TM, Molkentin JD. (2007) Cardiomyocyte GATA4 functions as a stress-responsive regulator of angiogenesis in the murine heart. J Clin Invest. 2007 Nov;117(11):3198-210. Erratum in: J Clin Invest. 2008 Jan;118(1):387. PubMed PMID: 17975667; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2045611.

35. Oka T, Xu J, Kaiser RA, Melendez J, Hambleton M, Sargent MA, Lorts A, Brunskill EW, Dorn GW 2nd, Conway SJ, Aronow BJ, Robbins J, Molkentin JD. (2007) Genetic manipulation of periostin expression reveals a role in cardiac hypertrophy and ventricular remodeling. Circ Res. 2007 Aug 3;101(3):313-21. Epub 2007 Jun 14. PubMed PMID: 17569887; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2680305.

36. Oka T, Xu J, Molkentin JD. (2007) Re-employment of developmental transcription factors in adult heart disease. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2007 Feb;18(1):117-31. Epub 2006 Nov 24. Review. PubMed PMID: 17161634; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1855184.

37. Xu J, Gong NL, Bodi I, Aronow BJ, Backx PH, Molkentin JD. (2006) Myocyte enhancer factors 2A and 2C induce dilated cardiomyopathy in transgenic mice. J Biol Chem. 2006 Apr 7;281(14):9152-62. Epub 2006 Feb 9. PubMed PMID: 16469744.

38. Kempf T, Eden M, Strelau J, Naguib M, Willenbockel C, Tongers J, Heineke J, Kotlarz D, Xu J, Molkentin JD, Niessen HW, Drexler H, Wollert KC. (2006) The transforming growth factor-beta superfamily member growth-differentiation factor-15 protects the heart from ischemia/reperfusion injury. Circ Res. 2006 Feb 17;98(3):351-60. Epub 2006 Jan 5. PubMed PMID: 16397141.

39. Xu J, Kimball TR, Lorenz JN, Brown DA, Bauskin AR, Klevitsky R, Hewett TE, Breit SN, Molkentin JD. (2006) GDF15/MIC-1 functions as a protective and antihypertrophic factor released from the myocardium in association with SMAD protein activation. Circ Res. 2006 Feb 17;98(3):342-50. Epub 2006 Jan 5. PubMed PMID: 16397142.

40. Dai YS, Xu J, Molkentin JD. (2005) The DnaJ-related factor Mrj interacts with nuclear factor of activated T cells c3 and mediates transcriptional repression through class II histone deacetylase recruitment. Mol Cell Biol. 2005 Nov;25(22):9936-48. PubMed PMID: 16260608; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1280278.

41. Lynch J, Guo L, Gelebart P, Chilibeck K, Xu J, Molkentin JD, Agellon LB, Michalak M. (2005) Calreticulin signals upstream of calcineurin and MEF2C in a critical Ca(2+)-dependent signaling cascade. J Cell Biol. 2005 Jul 4;170(1):37-47. PubMed PMID: 15998798; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2171392.

42. Wilkins BJ, Dai YS, Bueno OF, Parsons SA, Xu J, Plank DM, Jones F, Kimball TR, Molkentin JD. (2004) Calcineurin/NFAT coupling participates in pathological, but not physiological, cardiac hypertrophy. Circ Res. 2004 Jan 9;94(1):110-8. Epub 2003 Dec 1. PubMed PMID: 14656927.