Biography

Long-Jun Wu, PhD, is the C. Harold and Lorine G. Wallace Distinguished University Chair at the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM). He also serves as the Professor and Founding Director at IMM – Center for Neuroimmunology and Glial Biology. In this role, Dr. Wu is building an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to understanding brain immune system for future neuroimmune therapy for brain diseases. He was Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Mayo Clinic prior to joining UTHealth Houston in 2024.

Dr. Wu is interested in studying the role of microglia, the highly dynamic immune cells in the central nervous system, in clinically relevant pathologies such as epilepsy, neuropathic pain, neurodegeneration and autoimmune neurology. His research laboratory focuses on neuroimmune innteraction in normal and diseased brain tissue. Particularly, he and his team study the molecular mechanism underlying microglial sensing and regulation of neuronal activities. The use of advanced genetic tools along with a combination of two-photon imaging, electrophysiology, electroencephalography, molecular biology techniques and awake-behavioral studies in rodent models help Dr. Wu and his team identify microglia-specific targets to treat brain diseases, such as epilepsy, chronic pain, neurodegeneration etc.

Professional Highlights

  • Outstanding Investigator Award (R35), NINDS, 2023
  • Teacher of the Year, Mayo Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 2020
  • Section editor: Molecular Brain (2013-present); Neuroscience Bulletin (2018-present); Cell & Bioscience (2023-present); Neuroscience (2024-present)
  • Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, 2019-2024
  • Associate Professor of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 2016-2019
  • Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, 2012-2016
  • Instructor, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, 2011-2012

Education

Postdoctoral Fellowship
Harvard Medical School
Postdoctoral Fellowship
University of Toronto
Visiting Student
University of Toronto
Ph.D. - Neurobiology and Biophysics
University of Science and Technology of China
BS - Biology
Anhui University

Areas of Interest

Research Interests

  • Microglial biology. Dr. Wu and his research team has long interests in studying microglial biology, such as microglial ion channels and receptors. Their recent studies reveal how microglia sense and regulate neuronal activity in normal and diseased brain using in vivo imaging approaches.
  • Seizures and epilepsy. Dr. Wu’s team is interested in understanding the role of microglia in the epileptic brain. Their current research addresses the physical and molecular interactions between microglia and hyperactive neurons during epileptiform.
  • Neuropathic pain. Dr. Wu’s team is also interested in understanding the molecular pathways underlying microglia-mediated development of chronic pain. The long-term mission is to target microglia for the treatment of chronic pain.
  • Neurodegeneration. Dr Wu’s recent study showed neuroprotective function of microglia in TDP-43 neurodegeneration. Their group currently exploit novel methods of imaging microglia-neuron interactions in neurodegeneration like ALS, FTLD and AD.
  • Autoimmune neurology. Dr. Wu’s team established a rodent model of neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and found an intriguing microglia-astrocyte interaction in this NMO model. Their current research will further determine the role of microglia and infiltrated immune cells in driving NMO pathogenesis.

Publications

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Selected publications (#equal contribution, *corresponding author)

Umpierre AD#, Li B#, Ayasoufi K, Simon WL, Zhao S, Xie M, Thyen G, Hur B, Zheng J, Liang Y, Bosco DB, Maynes MA, Wu Z, Yu X, Sung J, Johnson AJ, Li Y*, Wu LJ*. 2024. Microglial P2Y6 calcium signaling promotes phagocytosis and shapes neuroimmune responses in epileptogenesis. Neuron, 112(12):1959-1977.

Wang L, Zheng J, Zhao S, Wan Y, Wang M, Bosco DB, Kuan CY, Richardson JR, Wu LJ*. 2024. CCR2+ monocytes replenish border-associated macrophages in the diseased brain. Cell Reports, 43(4):114120

Zhao S, Umpierre AD, Wu LJ*. 2024. Tuning neural circuits and behaviors by microglia in the adult brain. Trends in Neuroscience, 47(3):181-194 (review).

Haruwaka K#, Ying Y#, Liang Y, Umpierre AD, Yi MH, Kremen V, Chen T, Xie T, Qi F, Zhao S, Zhang J, Liu YU, Dong H, Worrell GA, Wu LJ*. 2024. Microglia enhance neuronal activity by shielding inhibitory synapses. Nature Neuroscience, 27(3):449-461 

Zhao S#, Zheng J#, Wang L, Umpierre AD, Parusel S, Xie M, Dheer A, Ayasoufi K, Johnson AJ, Richardson JR, Wu LJ*. 2023. Chemogenetic manipulation of CX3CR1+ cells transiently induces hypolocomotion independent of microglia. Molecular Psychiatry, 28(7):2857-2871 .

Xie M#, Liu YU#*, Zhao S, Zhang L, Bosco DB, Pang Y-P, Zhong J, Sheth U, Martens YA, Zhao N, Liu CC, Zhuang Y, Wang L, Dickson DW, Mattson MP, Bu G, Wu LJ*. 2022. TREM2 interacts with TDP-43 and mediates microglial neuroprotection against TDP-43-related neurodegeneration. Nature Neuroscience, 25(1): 26-38.

Eyo UB#, Haruwaka K#, Mo M, Campos-Salazar AB, Wang L, Speros XS, Sabu S, Xu P, Wu LJ*. 2021. Microglia provide structural resolution to injured dendrites after severe seizures. Cell Reports, 35(5): 109080.

Yi MH, Liu YU, Umpierre AD, Chen T, Ying Y, Zheng J, Dheer A, Bosco DB, Dong H, Wu LJ*. 2021. Optogenetic activation of spinal microglia triggers chronic pain in mice. PLoS Biology, 19(3): 3001154.

Umpierre AD, Bystrom LL, Ying Y, Liu YU, Worrell G, Wu LJ*. 2020. Microglial calcium signaling is attuned to neuronal activity in awake mice. eLife, 9: e56502.

Chen T, Lennon VA, Liu YU, Bosco DB, Li Y, Yi MH, Zhu J, Wei S, Wu LJ*. 2020. Astrocyte-microglia interaction drives evolving neuromyelitis optica lesion. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 130(8):4025-4038.

Liu YU, Ying Y, Li Y, Eyo UB, Chen T, Zheng J, Umpierre AD, Zhu J, Bosco DB, Dong H, Wu LJ*. 2019. Neuronal network activity controls microglial process surveillance in awake mice via norepinephrine signaling. Nature Neuroscience, 22(11):1771-1781.

Mo M#, Eyo UB#, Xie M, Peng J, Bosco DB, Umpierre AD, Zhu X, Tian DS, Xu P*, Wu LJ*. 2019. Microglial P2Y12 receptors regulate seizure-induced neurogenesis and immature neuronal projections. Journal of Neuroscience, 39(47):9453-9464.

Eyo UB, Wu LJ*. 2019. Microglia: lifelong patrolling immune cells of the brain. Progress in Neurobiology, 179:101614 (review).

Zhou LJ#, Peng J#, Xu YN, Zeng WJ, Zhang J, Wei X, Mai CL, Li ZJ, Liu Y, Murugan M, Eyo UB, Umpierre AD, Xin WJ, Chen T, Li M, Wang H, Richardson JR, Tan Z*, Liu XG*, Wu LJ*. 2019. Microglia are indispensable for synaptic plasticity in the spinal dorsal horn and chronic pain. Cell Reports, 27(13):3844-3859.

Eyo UB, Mo M, Yi MH, Murugan M, Liu J, Yarlagadda R, Margolis D, Xu P*, Wu LJ*. 2018. P2Y12R-dependent translocation mechanisms gate the changing microglial landscape. Cell Reports, 23(4):959-966.

Tian D#, Peng J#, Murugan M, Feng L, Liu J, Eyo UB, Zhou LJ, Mogilevsky R, Wang W*, Wu LJ*. 2017. Chemokine CCL2-CCR2 signaling induces neuronal cell death via STAT3 activation and IL-1β production after status epilepticus. Journal of Neuroscience, 37(33):7878 –7892.

Gu N#, Peng J#, Murugan M, Wang X, Eyo UB, Sun D, Ren Y, DiCicco-Bloom E, Young W, Dong H*, Wu LJ*. 2016. Spinal microgliosis due to resident microglial proliferation is required for pain hypersensitivities after peripheral nerve injury. Cell Reports, 16(3):605-14.

Peng J#, Gu N#, Zhou LJ, Eyo UB, Murugan M, Gan WB, Wu LJ*. 2016. Microglia and monocytes synergistically promote the transition from acute to chronic pain after nerve injury. Nature Communications, 7:12029.

Eyo UB, Gu N, De S, Dong H, Richardson JR, Wu LJ*. 2015. Modulation of microglial process convergence toward neuronal dendrites by extracellular calcium. Journal of Neuroscience, 35(6): 2417-2422.

Wu LJ*. 2014. Voltage-gated proton channel Hv1 in microglia. Neuroscientist, 20(6): 599-609 (review).

Eyo UB, Peng J, Swiatkowski P, Mukherjee A, Bispo A, Wu LJ*. 2014. Neuronal hyperactivity recruits microglial processes via neuronal NMDA receptors and microglial P2Y12 receptors after status epilepticus. Journal of Neuroscience, 34 (32): 10528-10540.

Wu LJ#, Wu G#, Sharif MR, Baker A, Jia Y, Fahey FH, Luo HR, Feener EP, Clapham DE*. 2012. The voltage-gated proton channel Hv1 enhances brain damage from ischemic stroke. Nature Neuroscience, 15(4): 565-573.