Dr Lindsay Wu

Fields of research: Animal Cell and Molecular Biology, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Protein Targeting and Signal Transduction, Cell Metabolism

Contact Details

Phone: +61 2 9385 9431
Email: lindsay.e.wu@unsw.edu.au

Supervision

PHD
Masters
Honours

Tabs

Main

"Si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait"

(If only the young could know, if only the old could do)

Why do we have to grow old? Who said we can't stay young forever?

Less than a hundred years ago, we considered oursleves lucky to achieve sixty years of age, and supporting the old age pension for over 65 year olds was not an issue. Now, with Australia and much of the developed world facing an increasingly older population against a shrinking population of working age, declining health during old age is a "make or break" issue for healthcare systems and society at large. Old age increases (sometimes, exponentially so) the risk of health issues such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, bone degeneration, inflammatory disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.

While billions are spent researching and treating these diseases as symptoms of ageing, in the Laboratory for Ageing Research we seek to identify the fundamental causes of ageing itself. We view ageing not as a result of a series of damages accumulated during a lifetime, but as a malleable biological program that can be intervened in and reversed. Indeed, experiments from simple organisms tell us that simple tweaks to single genes can greatly extend lifespan. The challenge is now on to translate these findings into mammalian systems, as well as uncover mechanisms that are unique to mammals. Treatments that intervene in this biological program may soon not only delay or even completely prevent diseases of old age, but may extend lifespan altogether. Such a strategy may allow us to stay healthy and productive well into what we today consider to be old age and beyond.

The Laboratory for Ageing Research is currently pursuing a number of ongoing projects in the search for understanding and interventions that may delay ageing. These projects start with the sirtuins, a class of NAD+ dependent deacetylase enzymes implicated in mediating the effects of calorie restriction to extend lifespan. Recently, we have moved beyond these and are in particular excited about the identification of circulating hormones that could control ageing and lifespan. The following projects and more are available for study at both the honours and PhD level...

- The role of the cytoplasmic sirtuin SIRT2 in lifespan and ageing.
- New drugs that increase NAD+ levels as treatments for ageing.
- The search for a longevity hormone.
- Drugs that regulate ageing as therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma
- Exotic protein post-translational modifications and their regulation

University role:

Senior Res Fellow (NH&MRC)

Research

Socio-economic Objective (SEO) tags:

Ageing and Older People

Health Related to Ageing

Neurodegenerative Disorders Related to Ageing

Publications related to this Person

Journal articles

Wu LE; Sinclair DA, 2016, 'Restoring stem cells-all you need is NAD⁺', Cell Research, vol. 26, pp. 971 - 972, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/cr.2016.80

Chowdhury MKH; Wu LE; Coleman JLJ; Smith NJ; Morris MJ; Shepherd PR; Smith GC, 2016, 'Niclosamide blocks glucagon phosphorylation of Ser⁵⁵² on β-catenin in primary rat hepatocytes via PKA signalling', Biochemical Journal, vol. 473, pp. 1247 - 1255, http://dx.doi.org/10.1042/BCJ20160121

Cagnone GLM; Tsai TS; Makanji Y; Matthews P; Gould J; Bonkowski MS; Elgass KD; Wong ASA; Wu LE; McKenzie M, 2016, 'Restoration of normal embryogenesis by mitochondrial supplementation in pig oocytes exhibiting mitochondrial DNA deficiency', Scientific Reports, vol. 6, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep23229

Wu LE; Levina A; Harris HH; Cai Z; Lai B; Vogt S; James DE; Lay PA, 2016, 'Carcinogenic Chromium(VI) Compounds Formed by Intracellular Oxidation of Chromium(III) Dietary Supplements by Adipocytes', Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, vol. 55, pp. 1742 - 1745, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201509065

Wu LE; Fazakerley DJ; Cantley J, 2015, 'Circulating AFABP promotes insulin secretion', Obesity, vol. 23, pp. 1525, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/oby.21175

Riepsamen A; Wu L; Lau L; Listijono D; Ledger W; Sinclair D; Homer H, 2015, 'Nicotinamide impairs entry into and exit from meiosis I in mouse oocytes', PLoS ONE, vol. 10, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0126194

Ma X; Yang P; Kaplan WH; Lee BH; Wu LE; Yang JYH; Yasunaga M; Sato K; Chisholm DJ; James DE, 2014, 'ISL1 regulates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ activation and early adipogenesis via bone morphogenetic protein 4-dependent and -independent mechanisms', Molecular and Cellular Biology, vol. 34, pp. 3607 - 3617, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/MCB.00583-14

Wu LE; Meoli CC; Mangiafico SP; Fazakerley DJ; Cogger VC; Mohamad M; Pant H; Kang MJ; Powter E; Burchfield JG, 2014, 'Systemic VEGF-A neutralization ameliorates diet-induced metabolic dysfunction', Diabetes, vol. 63, pp. 2656 - 2667, http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/db13-1665

North BJ; Rosenberg MA; Jeganathan KB; Hafner AV; Michan S; Dai J; Baker DJ; Cen Y; Wu LE; Sauve AA, 2014, 'SIRT2 induces the checkpoint kinase BubR1 to increase lifespan', EMBO Journal, vol. 33, pp. 1438 - 1453, http://dx.doi.org/10.15252/embj.201386907

Wu LE; Sinclair DA, 2014, 'SIRT2 controls the pentose phosphate switch', EMBO Journal, vol. 33, pp. 1287 - 1288, http://dx.doi.org/10.15252/embj.201488713

Solon-Biet SM; McMahon AC; Ballard JWO; Ruohonen K; Wu LE; Cogger VC; Warren A; Huang X; Pichaud N; Melvin RG, 2014, 'The ratio of macronutrients, not caloric intake, dictates cardiometabolic health, aging, and longevity in ad libitum-fed mice', Cell Metabolism, vol. 19, pp. 418 - 430, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2014.02.009

Wu LE; Samocha-Bonet D; Whitworth PT; Fazakerley DJ; Turner N; Biden TJ; James DE; Cantley J, 2014, 'Identification of fatty acid binding protein 4 as an adipokine that regulates insulin secretion during obesity', Molecular Metabolism, vol. 3, pp. 465 - 473, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2014.02.005

Wu LE; Gomes AP; Sinclair DA, 2014, 'Geroncogenesis: Metabolic Changes during Aging as a Driver of Tumorigenesis', Cancer Cell, vol. 25, pp. 12 - 19, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ccr.2013.12.005

Van der Poorten D; Samer CF; Ramezani-Moghadam M; Coulter S; Kacevska M; Schrijnders D; Wu LE; Mcleod D; Bugianesi E; Komuta M, 2013, 'Hepatic fat loss in advanced nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: Are alterations in serum adiponectin the cause?', Hepatology, vol. 57, pp. 2180 - 2188, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hep.26072

Carter EA; Rayner BS; McLeod AI; Wu LE; Marshall CP; Levina A; Aitken JB; Witting PK; Lai B; Cai Z, 2010, 'Silicon nitride as a versatile growth substrate for microspectroscopic imaging and mapping of individual cells', Molecular BioSystems, vol. 6, pp. 1316 - 1322, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c001499k

Wu LE; Hocking SL; James DE, 2010, 'Macrophage infiltration and cytokine release in adipose tissue: angiogenesis or inflammation?', Diabetology International, vol. 1, pp. 26 - 34, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13340-010-0003-x

Hocking SL; Wu LE; Guilhaus M; Chisholm DJ; James DE, 2010, 'Intrinsic depot-specific differences in the secretome of adipose tissue, preadipocytes, and adipose tissue-derived microvascular endothelial cells', Diabetes, vol. 59, pp. 3008 - 3016, http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/db10-0483

Crowe S; Wu LE; Economou C; Turpin SM; Matzaris M; Hoehn KL; Hevener AL; James DE; Duh EJ; Watt MJ, 2009, 'Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor Contributes to Insulin Resistance in Obesity', Cell Metabolism, vol. 10, pp. 40 - 47, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2009.06.001

Hoehn KL; Hohnen-Behrens C; Cederberg A; Wu LE; Turner N; Yuasa T; Ebina Y; James DE, 2008, 'IRS1-Independent Defects Define Major Nodes of Insulin Resistance', Cell Metabolism, vol. 7, pp. 421 - 433, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2008.04.005

Vogt S; Lai B; Finney L; Palmer B; Wu LE; Harris H; Paunesku T; de Jonge M; Legnini D; Maser J, 2007, 'Imaging trace elements in cells with x-ray fluorescence microscopy', MICROSCOPY AND MICROANALYSIS, vol. 13, pp. 40 - 41, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1431927607076283

Conference Papers

Wu LE; James DE; Cantley J, 2010, 'Secreted adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (FABP4) forms the molecular basis of the adipo-insular axis', in DIABETOLOGIA, SPRINGER, Stockholm, SWEDEN, pp. S58 - S58, presented at 46th Annual Meeting of the European-Association-for-the- Study-of-Diabetes (EASD), Stockholm, SWEDEN, 20 - 24 September 2010, http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000280689700124&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=891bb5ab6ba270e68a

Conference Abstracts

Homer H; Riepsamen A; Wu LE; Sinclair D, 2015, 'Sirt2-mediated BubR1 regulation promotes oocyte maturation', in HUMAN REPRODUCTION, OXFORD UNIV PRESS, Lisbon, PORTUGAL, Vol. 30, pp. 11 - 11, presented at 31st Annual Meeting of the European-Society-of-Human-Reproduction-and-Embryology (ESHRE), Lisbon, PORTUGAL, 14 - 17 June 2015, http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000359740300024&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=891bb5ab6ba270e68a