Asian Academy of Anti-Aging Research and Translational Medicine（AAAR）
Professor Zhou is a Tenured Professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong. He is the founder and chairman of Asian Society for Aging Research (ASAR) and Hong Kong Society for Cell Biology (HKSCB).
Professor Zhou is an internationally renowned expert in the field of biological functions of extracellular and nuclear matrix proteins. His work mainly focuses on signaling regulation in the development, tumorigenesis in genetically modified mice and human patient tissues. He identified Lamin A as the endogenous substrate of metalloproteinase Zmpste24 and demonstrated for the first time that genomic instability is the main cause of the most severe early aging disease, Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS). He has demonstrated nuclear matrix is not simply a scaffold but a functional structure in regulating chromatin dynamics through modulating epigenetic factors, such as histone deacetylases and acetyltransferases. Recently, he also demonstrated resveratrol’s activation of the longevity protein SIRT1. He determined that Lamin A is an endogenous activator of SIRT1 and mediates the activation of SIRT1 deacetylase activity by resveratrol. This important finding clears the cloud over resveratrol as the activator of SIRT1. He has also made significant contributions to the understanding of membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase function in development and signaling. He demonstrated that MT1-MMP is the major negative Notch signaling regulator to maintain lymphocyte differentiation. In addition, he showed the cross-talk between ADAM and MMP in regulating FGFR2 signaling and osteogenesis. His recent work revealed MT1-MMP as an endogenous inhibitor of lymph-angiogenesis. Professor Zhou's work on health extension has brought new hope to patients with HGPS and aging-related diseases. Professor Zhou's multiple research work on aging was cited in The Hallmarks of Aging, the most classic and authoritative review published in Cell magazine in 2013.
Professor Zhou has published many high-level articles in important international academic journals including Nature, Cell, PNAS. He is the associate editor of the international academic journal Mutation Research, the chief editor of Translational Medicine of Aging, and the editorial board member of Aging Cell. Served as a reviewer for more than 20 international journals including Science Translational Medicine, Nature Chemical Biology, Cell Chemical Biology, EMBO Journal. He presided over more than 20 research projects in Hong Kong, the United States, and the Natural Science Foundation Overseas Outstanding Youth Fund (Hong Kong and Macau) at home and abroad, and presided over a large-scale cooperation project on aging research of the Hong Kong Research Foundation as the chief. He is a member and review expert of the drafting expert group of the National Natural Science Foundation of China on aging. Professor Zhou has been awarded the Young Research Award of the International Protease/Protein Degradation Society. The Outstanding Research Award of The University of Hong Kong, the speaker nominated by the Chairman of the International Society for Matrix Biology, the Croucher Foundation Senior Research Award, and the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. Professor Zhou is also the special nominee for the Nobel Prize of “Medical and Physiology Prize” candidates.
1.Zhao K, Zheng M, Su Z, Ghosh S, Zhang C, Zhong W, Ho JWK, Jin G, Zhou Z. MOF-mediated acetylation of SIRT6 disrupts SIRT6-FOXA2 interaction and represses SIRT6 tumor-suppressive function by upregulating ZEB2 in NSCLC. Cell Rep. 2023 Aug 29;42(8):112939. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112939. Epub 2023 Aug 10. PMID: 37566546.
2.Gao G, Li X, Jiang Z, Osorio L, Tang YL, Yu X, Jin G, Zhou Z. Isthmin-1 (Ism1) modulates renal branching morphogenesis and mesenchyme condensation during early kidney development. Nat Commun. 2023 Apr 25;14(1):2378. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37992-x. PMID: 37185772; PMCID: PMC10130008.
3.Jiang Z, Zhou J, Qin X, Zheng H, Gao B, Liu X, Jin G, Zhou Z. MT1-MMP deficiency leads to defective ependymal cell maturation, impaired ciliogenesis, and hydrocephalus. JCI Insight. 2020 May 7;5(9):e132782. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.132782. PMID: 32229724; PMCID: PMC7253023. Highlighted in JCI This Month
4.Ghosh S, Wong SK, Jiang Z, Liu B, Wang Y, Hao Q, Gorbunova V, Liu X, Zhou Z. Haploinsufficiency of Trp53 dramatically extends the lifespan of Sirt6-deficient mice. Elife. 2018 Feb 23;7:e32127. doi: 10.7554/eLife.32127. PMID: 29474172; PMCID: PMC5825207.
5.Ghosh S, Liu B, Wang Y, Hao Q, Zhou Z. Lamin A Is an Endogenous SIRT6 Activator and Promotes SIRT6-Mediated DNA Repair. Cell Rep. 2015 Nov 17;13(7):1396-1406. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2015.10.006. Epub 2015 Nov 5. PMID: 26549451.
6.Liu B, Ghosh S, Yang X, Zheng H, Liu X, Wang Z, Jin G, Zheng B, Kennedy BK, Suh Y, Kaeberlein M, Tryggvason K, Zhou Z. Resveratrol rescues SIRT1-dependent adult stem cell decline and alleviates progeroid features in laminopathy-based progeria. Cell Metab. 2012 Dec 5;16(6):738-50. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2012.11.007. PMID: 23217256.
7.Chan KM, Wong HL, Jin G, Liu B, Cao R, Cao Y, Lehti K, Tryggvason K, Zhou Z. MT1-MMP inactivates ADAM9 to regulate FGFR2 signaling and calvarial osteogenesis. Dev Cell. 2012 Jun 12;22(6):1176-90. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2012.04.014. Epub 2012 May 24. PMID: 22632802. Faculty 1000 F1000 Factor 8.0 must read.
8.Liu B, Wang J, Chan KM, Tjia WM, Deng W, Guan X, Huang JD, Li KM, Chau PY, Chen DJ, Pei D, Pendas AM, Cadiñanos J, López-Otín C, Tse HF, Hutchison C, Chen J, Cao Y, Cheah KS, Tryggvason K, Zhou Z. Genomic instability in laminopathy-based premature aging. Nat Med. 2005 Jul;11(7):780-5. doi: 10.1038/nm1266. Epub 2005 Jun 26. PMID: 15980864. Commented by Misteli T, Scaffidi P. In Nat Med 2005 11(7):718-9. Genome instability in progeria: when repair gets old. F1000 Factor 6.4
9.Varela I, Cadiñanos J, Pendás AM, Gutiérrez-Fernández A, Folgueras AR, Sánchez LM, Zhou Z, Rodríguez FJ, Stewart CL, Vega JA, Tryggvason K, Freije JM, López-Otín C. Accelerated ageing in mice deficient in Zmpste24 protease is linked to p53 signalling activation. Nature. 2005 Sep 22;437(7058):564-8. doi: 10.1038/nature04019. Epub 2005 Aug 3. PMID: 16079796. Nature (Impact Factor 69.5), 437(7058):564-8.Recommended by Faculty 1000 by M. Sharon Stack, F1000 Factor 6.0 an intriguing link between ageing and tumor suppression
10.Zhou Z, Doi M, Wang J, Cao R, Liu B, Chan KM, Kortesmaa J, Sorokin L, Cao Y, Tryggvason K. Deletion of laminin-8 results in increased tumor neovascularization and metastasis in mice. Cancer Res. 2004 Jun 15;64(12):4059-63. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-04-0291. PMID: 15205311. (Impact Factor 13.3); 64(12), 4059-4063 *correspondence Recommended by Faculty 1000 by Lynn Matrisian, F1000 Factor 3.0
11.Pendás AM, Zhou Z, Cadiñanos J, Freije JM, Wang J, Hultenby K, Astudillo A, Wernerson A, Rodríguez F, Tryggvason K, López-Otín C. Defective prelamin A processing and muscular and adipocyte alterations in Zmpste24 metalloproteinase-deficient mice. Nat Genet. 2002 May;31(1):94-9. doi: 10.1038/ng871. Epub 2002 Apr 1. PMID: 11923874. *Equal contribution.
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