Name：Chengzhou Mao

Position：Assistant Professor

E-mail：maocz@szu.edu.cn

Personal Statement: 

Dr. Chengzhou Mao received his Ph.D in basic medicine from Sun Yat-sen University in 2022, and then joined the School of Basic Medical Science, Shenzhen University as an assistant professor. His research focuses on the differentiation and function of T cells and their role in tumors immunity, with the goal of discovering novel targets for immunotherapy development.

Immunotherapy has proven to be an effective treatment for cancer patients, with the primary objective of generating durable protective immunity mediated by effector T cells, leading to the eradication of tumors in patients. While having shown clinical success in certain cancers, they are either not responsive in most solid tumors due to limited activity in suppressive tumor microenvironment. A better understanding of immune barrier and signaling mechanism in effector T cells is essential to prevent and treat cancer. Dr. Mao has published many papers in high impact academic journals such as Science Advances, Nature Cancer, Journal of Leukocyte Biology, Faseb Journal, etc. as a first-author or co-author.

Research Interests:

The spatiotemporal, molecular, and epigenetic factors that determine T cell fate decisions and functional/dysfunctional states in cancer

Crosstalk between tumor cells and exhausted T cells

Glycosylation-mediated modulation of tumor immunogenicity

Research Projects:

1. Research Initiation Project of Shenzhen University (No. 868-00001032010):  01/01/2023 to 12/31/2024  ￥200,000

2. Research Grant of Key Laboratory of Regenerative medicine, Ministry of education, Jinan University (No. ZSYXQ202403):  0101/2024 to 01/01/2025 ￥10,000

3. Shenzhen Peacock Research Startup Project (No. 827-000901):  0101/2023 to 12/31/2025 ￥2,000,000

Selected Peer-reviewed Publications:

1. Mao, Chengzhou; Zhuang, Shimin; Xia, Zijin; Xiao, Zhiwen; Huang, Chunxia; Su, Qiang;Chen, Jun*; Liao, Jing* ; Pan-cancer analysis of GALNTs expression identifies a prognostic of GALNTs feature in low grade glioma, Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 2022, 112(4): 887-899

2. Mao, Chengzhou^#; Zheng, Li^#; Zhou, Yimin; Wu, Haiyan; Xia, Jingbo; Liang, Chiqian; Guo, Xiaofang; Peng, Wentao; Zhao, Hui; Cai, Weibin; Kim, Soo-Ki; Park, Kyu-Sang; Cai, Dongqing*; Qi, Xufeng* ; CRISPR/Cas9-mediated efficient and precise targeted integration of donor DNA harboring double cleavage sites in Xenopus tropicalis, Faseb Journal, 2018, 32(12): 6495-6509

3. Wang, Xinyu^#; Li, Yiyi^#; Li, Yan^#; Wang, Xiumei; Song, Hongrui; Wang, Yingzhao; Huang, Chunliu; Mao, Chengzhou; Wang, Lixiang; Zhong, Cheng; Yu, Di; Xia, Zijin; Feng, Yongyi; Duan, Jingjing; Liu, Yujia; Ou, Juanjuan; Luo, Congzhou; Mai, Wenhao; Hong, Hai; Cai, Weibin; Zheng, Limin; Trempe, Jean-Francois; Fon, Edward A.; Liao, Jing*; Yi, Wei*; Chen, Jun* ; AMPK-dependent Parkin activation suppresses macrophage antigen presentation to promote tumor progression, Science Advances, 2025, 11(12): eadn8402

4. Huang, Chunliu^#; Wang, Xuefei^#; Wang, Yingzhao; Feng, Yongyi; Wang, Xiumei; Chen, Shan; Yan, Peidong; Liao, Jing; Zhang, Qi; Mao, Chengzhou; Li, Yang; Wang, Lixiang; Wang, Xinyu; Yi, Wei; Cai, Weibin; Chen, Shoudeng; Hong, Ni*; He, Weiling*; Chen, Jun*; Jin, Wenfei* ; Sirpα on tumor-associated myeloid cells restrains antitumor immunity in colorectal cancer independent of its interaction with CD47, Nature Cancer, 2024, 5(3): 500-516

5. Xia, Jingbo^#; Mao, Chengzhou^#; Chen, Zhuoying; Liu, Guanghui; Wu, Haiyan; Zhou, Dengcheng; KyuSang Park; Zhao, Hui; Soo-Ki Kim; Cai, Dongqing*; Qi, Xufeng*; The CXCL10/CXCR3 axis promotes cardiac microvascular endothelial cell migration via the p38/FAK pathway in a proliferation-independent manner, Experimental and Molecular Pathology, 2016, 2(100): 257-265