Zhou Xing

, MD, PhD

Professor, Pathology and Molecular Medicine

Division: Molecular Medicine

McMaster University
Centre for Gene Therapeutics
4012 Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery
905-525-9140 ext. 22471, 22354
xingz@mcmaster.ca

Assistant: Michelle Allan

Currently accepting Graduate Students
Currently accepting Post Doctoral Fellows

Education and Professional Standing

• PhD Immunology, McMaster University, 1993
• MSc Pathology, Tongji Medical University, 1985
• MD, North Sichuan Medical College, 1981

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Interests

Research Focus

Dr. Xing is Professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine. He was a Scholar of the Medical Research Council of Canada and a recipient of Ontario Premier’s Research Excellence Award. Dr. Xing is an expert in anti-microbial immunity, infectious diseases, tuberculosis vaccine development and cytokine biology. His research was or is currently supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, National Institutes of Health (USA), Canadian Foundation for Innovation, World Health Organization and Ontario Thoracic Society.

Our research endeavours center on studies aiming to investigate:

• Cellular and molecular immune mechanisms of host defense against both acute and chronic infectious diseases including those caused by Gram-negative bacteria, mycobacteria and viruses
• Modulation of host defense by transgene expression of cytokines and other immune modulatory molecules
• Immune protection from tuberculosis by a new generation of vaccines including attenuated organism-based, bacterial plasmid DNA-based and viral-based vaccines.

These studies are being carried out primarily in mouse models of sepsis, acute lung inflammation, Gram-negative bacterial infection, viral pneumonia, mycobacterial infection and tuberculosis. We have a special interest in understanding the role of dendritic cells, macrophages and T cells at the cellular level, and of cytokines, cytokine receptors and other transmembrane immunoreceptors at the molecular level, in anti-microbial immunity. Since we are constantly exposing to multiple microbes at the same time, we also pay attention to the immune mechanisms of host responses to heterologous infections. We strive to apply such knowledge to the rational design of tuberculosis vaccines and are currently running a phase clinical trial to evaluate our novel TB vaccine product.

Academic Interests

Dr. Xing is involved in teaching at both the Undergraduate and Graduate level within the Faculty of Health Sciences, including instruction in the following classes:

Undergraduate Studies

• Bachelor of Health Sciences Program, HTH SCI 3H03, Inquiry III
• BIOLOGY 4P03, Medical Microbiology
• BIOCHEM/HTH SCI 4J03, Biochemical Immunology

Graduate Studies, Medical Sciences Program

• MS715, Advanced Immunobiology I
• MS716, Advanced Immunobiology II
• MS717, Vaccines and Vaccine Immunology

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Team Members

Lab Technician

Anna Zganiacz

Post-Doctoral Fellows

Armando Heriazon, Mu (Tom) Jingyu, Jeyanathan (Mathy) Mangalakumari

PhD Students

Cherrie Small, Sarah McCormick, Daniela Damjanovic

MSc Students

Carly Horvath, Ryan Shaler

Selected Publications

• J. Mu, M. Jeyanathan, C.-L, Small, X. Zhang, E. Roediger, X. Feng, D. Chong, J. Gauldie and Z. Xing. A Bivalent Adenovirus-vectored Tuberculosis Vaccine Provides Markedly Improved Protection over Its Monovalent Counterpart against Pulmonary Tuberculosis. Mol. Ther. 17:1093-100, 2009.
• Z. Xing, C.T. McFarland, J-M. Sallenave, A. Izzo, J. Wang and D. N. McMurray. Intranasal mucosal boosting with an adenovirus-vectored vaccine markedly enhances the protection of BCG-primed guinea pigs against pulmonary tuberculosis. PLoS ONE 4:e5856, 2009.
• H. M. Vordermeier, B. Villarreal-Ramos, P. J. Cockle, M. Macauley, S. G. Rhodes, T. Thacker, S. C. Gilbert, H. McShane, A.V.S. Hill, Z. Xing, G. Hewinson. Heterologous Prime-boost vaccination strategies based on BCG and viral booster vaccines improved BCG induced protection in cattle against bovine Tuberculosis. Infect. Immun. 77:3364-3373, 2009.
• M. Jeyanathan, J. Mu, K. Kugathasan, X. Zhang, D. Damjanovic, C. Small, M. Divangahi, B.J. Petrof, C.M Hogaboam and Z. Xing. Airway delivery of soluble mycobacterial antigens restores protective mucosal immunity by single intramuscular plasmid DNA tuberculosis vaccination: Role of pro-inflammatory signals in the lung. J. Immunol. 181:5618-5626, 2008.
• K. Kugathasan, E. K. Roediger, C.-L. Small, S. McCormick, P. Yang and Z. Xing. CD11c+ antigen presenting cells from the alveolar space, lung parenchyma and spleen differ in their phenotype and capabilities to activate naïve and antigen-primed T cells. BMC Immunol. 9:48, 2008.
• S. Hao, J. Yuan, S. Xu, M.A Munegowda, Y. Deng, J. Gordon, Z. Xing and J. Xiang. Antigen Specificity Acquisition of Adoptive CD4+ Regulatory T Cells via Acquired Peptide-MHC Class I Complexes. J. Immunol. 18:2428-37, 2008.
• S. McCormick, M. Santosuosso, C.-L. Small, C.R. Shaler, X. Zhang, M. Jeyanathan, J. Mu, S. Takenaka, P. Ngai, J. Gauldie, Y. Wan and Z. Xing. Mucosally Delivered Dendritic Cells Activate T Cells Independently of IL-12 and Endogenous Antigen Presenting Cells. J. Immunol. 181:2356-67, 2008.
• B.S Feng, X. Chen, S.H He, P.Y Zheng, J. Foster, Z. Xing, J. Bienenstock and P.C. Yang. Disruption of TIM1 and TIM4 interaction as a therapeutic strategy in a DC-induced peanut allergy model. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 122:55-61, 2008.
• Small CL, McCormick S, Gill N, Kugathasan K, Santosuosso M, Donaldson N, Heinrichs D, Ashkar A and Xing Z . NK cells play a critical protective role in host defense against acute extracellular S. aureus bacterial infection in the lung. J. Immunol. 180:5558-5568, 2008.
• E. K. Roediger, K. Kugathasan, X. Zhang, B.D. Lichty and Z. Xing. Heterologous boosting of recombinant adenoviral prime immunization with a novel vesicular stomatitis virus vectored vaccine for pulmonary tuberculosis. Mol. Ther. 16:1161-1169, 2008.
• D. Damjanovic, X. Zhang, J. Mu, M.F. Medina and Z. Xing. Organ distribution of transgene expression following intranasal mucosal delivery of recombinant replication-defective adenovirus gene transfer vector. Genetic Vaccines Ther. 6:5, 2008.
• K. Karimi, J. Boudreau, K. Fraser, H. Liu, J. Delanghe, D. Bernard, J. Gauldie, Z. Xing, J. Bramson, and Y. Wan. Enhanced antitumor immunity elicited by dendritic cell vaccines is a result of their ability to engage both CTL and IFN-gamma-producing NK cells. Mol. Ther. 16:411-8, 2008.
• P-C Yang, Z. Xing, C.M Berin, J.D Soderholm, B-S Feng, L. Wu and C. Yeh. TIM-4 expressed by mucosal dendritic cells plays a critical role in food antigen specific Th2 differentiation and intestinal hyper sensitivity. Gastroenterology. 2007 Nov;133(5):1522-33. Epub 2007 Aug 2.

List of Dr. Xing's Pubmed Publications