Personal Introduction

Yue Xu, Ph.D., has been a principal investigator in the Department of Pathophysiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine since 2021. She graduated from the College of Biology, China Agricultural University in 2012 with a B.S. degree. After receiving her Ph.D. degree from the National Institute of Biological Science, Beijing (NIBS) in 2019, she continued her research on pathogen infection and xenophagy at NIBS as a postdoctoral scientist.

Dr. Xu's research group focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying innate immune surveillance and host-pathogen interactions. Her lab aims to define PRR-PAMP/DAMP pairs, dissect key pathways involved in endomembrane damage sensing and non-canonical autophagy, and elucidate how pathogens evade host immune surveillance through unconventional enzymatic activities and unique biochemical strategies.

Representative works were published in Cell, Cell Host & Microbe, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Autophagy, mBio, etc. Dr. Xu has been selected for the National High-Level Young Talent Program, the China Association for Science and Technology Young Talent Support Project, the Shanghai Youth Science and Technology Rising Star, the WuXi AppTec Life Chemistry Research Scholar Award, the Qiyuan Scholar, and the Benyuan Young Investigator Exploration Fellowship.

Publications

• Shao, Y.#, Yang, D.#, Gao, X., Wang, M., Meng, L., Niu, T., Xia, L., Ding, J., Shao, F., Xu, Y. Bacterial effector OspB hijacks apoptosis through peptide-bond recombination of BH3 domain proteins. Cell Host & Microbe (2025) 33, 1886-1900. Paper highlighted in: Cell Host & Microbe: Bacteria block host cell death by protein cut-and-paste. Science Signaling: Shigella mixes and matches host proteins

• Xu, Y., Zhou, P., Cheng, S., Lu, Q., Nowak, K., Hopp, A.K., Li, L., Shi, X., Zhou, Z., Gao, W., Li, D., He, H., Liu, X., Ding, J., Hottiger, M. O., Shao, F. A bacterial effector reveals the V-ATPase-ATG16L1 axis that initiates xenophagy. Cell (2019) 178, 552-566 e520. Paper highlighted in: Trans in Cell Biology: Tug of war in the xenophagy world. Autophagy: How bacteria can block xenophagy: an insight from Salmonella. Current Biology: Xenophagy: pathogen-containing vacuoles are hard to digest. Recommended in F1000

• Xu, Y., Cheng, S., Zeng, H., Zhou, P., Ma, Y., Li, L., Liu, X., Shao, F.*, Ding, J.* ARF GTPases activate Salmonella effector SopF to ADP-ribosylate host V-ATPase and inhibit endomembrane damage-induced autophagy. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (2022) 29, 67-77.

• Liu, Y.#, Zeng, H.#, Hou, Y., Li, Z., Li, L., Song, X., Ding, J., Shao, F.*, Xu, Y.* Calmodulin binding activates Chromobacterium CopC effector to ADP-Riboxanate host apoptotic caspases. mBio (2022) 28;13(3).

• Lu, Q.#, Yao, Q.#, Xu, Y.#, Li, L., Li, S., Liu, Y., Gao, W., Niu, M., Sharon, M., Ben-Nissan, G., Zamyatina, A., Liu, X., Chen, S., Shao, F. An iron-containing dodecameric heptosyltransferase family modifies bacterial autotransporters in pathogenesis. Cell Host & Microbe (2014) 16, 351-363.

• Xu, Y., Ding, J. Endomembrane damage sensing by V-ATPase recruits ATG16L1 for LC3 lipidation in situ. Autophagy (2022) 12;1-3.

• Xu, Y., Shao, F., Ding, J. V-ATPase-ATG16L1-induced LC3 Lipidation, In Atg8ylation and Its Manifestations (2024, Cambridge Scholars Publishing).

• Li, Z., Liu, W., Fu, J., Cheng, S., Xu, Y., Wang, Z., Liu, X., Shi, X., Liu, Y., Qi, X., Liu, X., Ding, J., Shao, F. Shigella evades pyroptosis by arginine ADP-riboxanation of caspase-11. Nature (2021). 599, 290–295.

• Zhou, P.#, She, Y.#, Dong, N., Li, P., He, H., Borio, A., Wu, Q., Lu, S., Ding, X., Cao, Y., Xu, Y., Gao, W., Dong, M., Ding, J., Wang, D. C., Zamyatina, A., Shao, F. Alpha-kinase 1 is a cytosolic innate immune receptor for bacterial ADP-heptose. Nature (2018) 561, 122-126.

• Hou, Y.#, Zeng, H.#, Li, Z., Feng, N., Meng, F., Xu, Y., Li, L., Shao, F.*, Ding, J.* Structural mechanisms of calmodulin activation of Shigella effector OspC3 to ADP-riboxanate caspase-4/11 and block pyroptosis. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (2023) 30, 261–272

• Li, X.#, Liao, C.#, Xu, Y., Lu, Q., Chen, S., Su, L., Zou, Y., Shao, F., Lu W.*, Zhang, W.*, Hu H*. Configuration-specific antibody for bacterial heptosylation: an antiadhesion therapeutic strategy. Journal of the American Chemical Society (2023), 145, 322-333

• Schubert, K.A., Xu, Y., Shao, F., and Auerbuch, V. The Yersinia type III secretion system as a tool for studying cytosolic innate immune surveillance. Annual Review of Microbiology (2020). 8; 74:221-245.

• Liu, W.#, Zhou, Y.#, Peng, T.#, Zhou, P., Ding, X., Li, Z., Zhong, H., Xu, Y., Chen, S., Hang, H.C., Shao, F. Nε-fatty acylation of multiple membrane-associated proteins by Shigella IcsB effector to modulate host function. Nature Microbiology (2018) 3, 996-1009.

• Lu, Q., Xu, Y., Yao, Q., Niu, M., and Shao, F. A polar-localized iron-binding protein determines the polar targeting of Burkholderia BimA autotransporter and actin tail formation. Cellular Microbiology (2015) 17, 408-424.

• Yao, Q. #, Lu, Q. #, Wan, X., Song, F., Xu, Y., Hu, M., Zamyatina, A., Liu, X., Huang, N., Zhu, P., Shao, F. A structural mechanism for bacterial autotransporter glycosylation by a dodecameric heptosyltransferase family. eLife (2014) 3.

• Cadwell, K., Abraham, C., Bel, S., Chauhan, S., Coers, J., Colombo, M., Davis, J., Hofius, D., Nguyen, H., Ogawa, M., Roy, C., Shao, F., Shizukuishi, S., Stallings, C., Szczesna, M., Taylor, G., Thurston, T., Watson, R., Wileman, T., Xu, Y., Zamboni D. Autophagy and Bacterial infections. Autophagy Reports (2025) 4, 2542904