Research

Our Research

Our research focuses on the roles of bioactive lipids, notably polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), in human health and disease. We investigate two main areas of PUFA biology: (1) the roles of eicosanoids—enzymatic metabolites of PUFAs—in human health and disease. We use a combination of LC-MS/MS–based lipidomics, pharmacological inhibitors, and genetically engineered mouse models to define the functions of eicosanoids in human health and disease development; and (2) the roles of non-enzymatic oxidation products of PUFAs in human health. We examine both endogenously formed non-enzymatic oxidation products and those generated during food preparation and processing, and assess their impacts on human health and disease development.

research

Representative Publications

  • Wang, W., Yang, J., Zhang, J., Wang, Y., Hwang, S.H., Qi, W., Wan, D., Kim, D., Sun, J., Sanidad, K.Z., Yang, H., Park, Y., Liu, J.Y., Zhao, X., Zheng, X., Liu, Z., Hammock, B.D. & Zhang, G. (2018). Lipidomic profiling reveals soluble epoxide hydrolase as a therapeutic target of obesity-induced colonic inflammation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 115(20), 5283-5288. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1721711115.
     
  • Wang, Y., Yang, J., Wang, W., Sanidad, K.Z., Cinelli, M.A., Wan, D., Hwang, S.H., Kim, D., Lee, K.S.S., Xiao, H., Hammock, B.D. & Zhang, G. (2020). Soluble epoxide hydrolase is an endogenous regulator of obesity-induced intestinal barrier dysfunction and bacterial translocation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 117(15), 8431-8436. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916189117.
     
  • Wang, W., Yang, J., Edin, M.L., Wang, Y., Luo, Y., Wan, D., Yang, H., Song, C.Q., Xue, W., Sanidad, K.Z., Song, M., Bisbee, H.A., Bradbury, J.A., Nan, G., Zhang, J., Shih, P.B., Lee, K.S.S., Minter, L.M., Kim, D., Xiao, H., Liu, J.Y., Hammock, B.D., Zeldin, D.C. & Zhang, G. (2019). Targeted Metabolomics Identifies the Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenase Eicosanoid Pathway as a Novel Therapeutic Target of Colon Tumorigenesis. Cancer Res, 79(8), 1822-1830. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.Can-18-3221.
     
  • Zhang, J., Yang, J., Duval, C., Edin, M.L., Williams, A., Lei, L., Tu, M., Pourmand, E., Song, R., Graves, J.P., DeGraff, L.M., Wong, J.J., Wang, Y., Sun, Q., Sanidad, K.Z., Wong, S., Han, Y., Zhang, Z., Lee, K.S.S., Park, Y., Xiao, H., Liu, Z., Decker, E.A., Cui, W., Zeldin, D.C. & Zhang, G. (2023). CYP eicosanoid pathway mediates colon cancer-promoting effects of dietary linoleic acid. Faseb J, 37(7), e23009. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202300786R.
     
  • Wang W, Wang Y, Sanidad KZ, Wang Y, Zhang J, Yang W, Sun Q, Bayram I, Song R, Yang H, Johnson D, Sherman HL, Kim D, Minter LM, Wong JJ, Zeng MY, Decker EA, Zhang G. (2024) Oxidized polyunsaturated fatty acid promotes colitis and colitis-associated tumorigenesis in mice. J Crohns Colitis, jjae148. doi: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjae148.
     
  • Yang, H., Wang, W., Romano, K.A., Gu, M., Sanidad, K.Z., Kim, D., Yang, J., Schmidt, B., Panigrahy, D., Pei, R., Martin, D.A., Ozay, E.I., Wang, Y., Song, M., Bolling, B.W., Xiao, H., Minter, L.M., Yang, G.Y., Liu, Z., Rey, F.E. & Zhang, G. (2018). A common antimicrobial additive increases colonic inflammation and colitis-associated colon tumorigenesis in mice. Sci Transl Med, 10(443). https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aan4116.
     
  • Zhang, J., Walker, M.E., Sanidad, K.Z., Zhang, H., Liang, Y., Zhao, E., Chacon-Vargas, K., Yeliseyev, V., Parsonnet, J., Haggerty, T.D., Wang, G., Simpson, J.B., Jariwala, P.B., Beaty, V.V., Yang, J., Yang, H., Panigrahy, A., Minter, L.M., Kim, D., Gibbons, J.G., Liu, L., Li, Z., Xiao, H., Borlandelli, V., Overkleeft, H.S., Cloer, E.W., Major, M.B., Goldfarb, D., Cai, Z., Redinbo, M.R. & Zhang, G. (2022). Microbial enzymes induce colitis by reactivating triclosan in the mouse gastrointestinal tract. Nat Commun, 13(1), 136. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27762-y.