Welcome to Dr. Hongxing Zhang's Homepage
To be, or not to be mentally healthy,
this is the question.
No PAIN, More Gain.
Research Interests:
Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University
DEPRESSION is a common but serious mood disorder, with an estimated 350 million people affected worldwide. Only 30% ~ 50% of depressed patients achieve full remission following treatment with currently available antidepressants which are based on serendipitous discoveries of the clinical efficacy more than 50 years ago. It is imperative to develop novel medications that use novel functioning mechanisms.
CHRONIC PAIN, an important co-morbidity associated with depression, has been estimated to affect more than 1.5 billion people worldwide and that approximately 3- 4.5% of the global population suffers from NEUROPATHIC PAIN. Currently-available treatments for primary pain fail to achieve adequate relief in about 40% of patients.
The aim of my researches is to apply pathway- and/or cell type-specific electrophysiological, opotogenetic, molecular, and behavioral approaches to elucidate the molecular, cellular, synaptic and neural circuit mechanisms in brain areas that relevant to depression and chronic pain such as the paraventricular thalamic nucleus (PVT). Understanding such basic mechanisms will likely provide novel therapeutic strategies/targets against many symptoms of depression and chronic pain.
Selected Publications:
1. Alpha1 and beta3 adrenergic receptor-mediated mesolimbic homeostatic plasticity confers resilience to social stress in susceptible mice. Zhang H, Chaudhury D., Nectow AR, Friedman AK, Zhang S, Juarez B, Liu H, Pfau ML, Aleyasin H, Jiang C, Crumiller M, Calipari ES, Ku SM, Morel C, Tzavaras N, Montgomery SE, He M, Salton SR, Russo SJ, Nestler EJ, Friedman JM, Cao J-L, Han M-H.
Biological Psychiatry. 2018. Epub 2018/09/05. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.08.020. First author. [Accepted]
H. Zhang, Y. L. Qian, C. Li, D. Liu, L. Wang, X. Y. Wang, M. J. Liu, H. Liu, S. Zhang, X. Y. Guo, J. X. Yang, H. L. Ding, J. W. Koo, E. Mouzon, K. Deisseroth, E. J. Nestler, V. Zachariou, M. H. Han and J. L. Cao.
Biological psychiatry. 2017. Epub 2017/04/10. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.02.1180. PubMed PMID: 28390647. [PDF]
3. Identification of a Brainstem Circuit Controlling Feeding. A. R. Nectow*., M. Schneeberger*, H. Zhang*, B. C. Field, N. Renier, E. Azevedo, B. Patel, Y. Liang, S. Mitra, M. Tessier-Lavigne, M. H. Han and J. M. Friedman.
Cell. 2017;170(3):429-42.e11. Epub 2017/07/29. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.06.045. PubMed PMID: 28753423. [PDF] * Co-first authors.
4. Basal forebrain projections to the lateral habenula modulate aggression reward. Golden, S. A., M. Heshmati, M. Flanigan, D. J. Christoffel, K. Guise, M. L. Pfau, H. Aleyasin, C. Menard, H. Zhang, G. E. Hodes, D. Bregman, L. Khibnik, J. Tai, N. Rebusi, B. Krawitz, D. Chaudhury, J. J. Walsh, M. H. Han, M. L. Shapiro and S. J. Russo.
Nature. 2016;534(7609):688-92. Epub 2016/07/01. doi: 10.1038/nature18601. PubMed PMID: 27357796. [PDF]
5. KCNQ channel openers reverse depressive symptoms via an active resilience mechanism. Friedman, A. K., B. Juarez, S. M. Ku, H. Zhang, R. C. Calizo, J. J. Walsh, D. Chaudhury, S. Zhang, A. Hawkins, D. M. Dietz, J. W. Murrough, M. Ribadeneira, E. H. Wong, R. L. Neve and M. H. Han.
Nature communications. 2016;7:11671. Epub 2016/05/25. doi: 10.1038/ncomms11671. PubMed PMID: 27216573. [PDF]
6. Ventral hippocampal afferents to the nucleus accumbens regulate susceptibility to depression. Bagot, R. C., E. M. Parise, C. J. Pena, H. Zhang, I. Maze, D. Chaudhury, B. Persaud, R. Cachope, C. A. Bolanos-Guzman, J. F. Cheer, K. Deisseroth, M. H. Han and E. J. Nestler.
Nature communications. 2015;6:7062. Epub 2015/05/09. doi: 10.1038/ncomms8062. PubMed PMID: 25952660. [PDF]
7. Molecular mechanisms underlying the analgesic property of intrathecal dexmedetomidine and its neurotoxicity evaluation: an in vivo and in vitro experimental study. H. Zhang, F. Zhou, C. Li, M. Kong, H. Liu, P. Zhang, S. Zhang, J. Cao, L. Zhang and H. Ma.
PloS one. 2013;8(2):e55556. Epub 2013/02/15. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055556. PubMed PMID: 23409000. [PDF]
8. EphrinBs/EphBs signaling is involved in modulation of spinal nociceptive processing through a mitogen-activated protein kinases-dependent mechanism. J.P. Ruan*, H. Zhang*, X.F. Lu, Y.P. Liu, J.L. Cao.
Anesthesiology. 2010;112(5):1234-49. Epub 2010/04/17. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e3181d3e0df. PubMed PMID: 20395829. [PDF]
Education:
以 德 载 医 博 学 创 新
209 Tongshan Road, Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, P. R. China 221004
1. 2012/08-2017/07, Postdoctoral Fellow, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Department of Pharmalogical Sciences,
Mentors: Dr. Ming-Hu Han and Dr. Jun-Li Cao.
2. 2010/09-2013/07, Ph.D. Student, China Medical University, The First Clinical School
Mentor: Dr. Hong Ma.
3. 2007/09-2010/07, M.S. Student, Xuzhou Medical University, Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology.
Mentor: Dr. Jun-Li Cao.
4. 2002/09-2007/07, B.S. Student, Weifang Medical College, Department of Anesthesiology.
