Zhang Laboratory - Publications

View Dr. Zhang’s complete list of published work in NCBI MyBibliography

  1. Ahmari N, Choi K, Wu J, Rizvi TA, Jackson M, Kershner LJ, Kim MO, Zhang X, Dombi E, Shern J, Hildeman DA, Ratner N. Daytime SHP2 inhibitor dosing, when immune cell numbers are elevated, shrinks neurofibromas. Life Sci Alliance. 2025 Dec;8(12). doi: 10.26508/lsa.202503359. Print 2025 Dec. PubMed PMID: 40992926; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12461152. 

  2. Okada R, Reyes-González JM, Rodriguez C, Kondo T, Oh J, Sun M, Kelly MC, Zhang L, Gulley J, Shern JF, Ho M, Hinrichs CS, Taylor NN, Zhang X, Nguyen R. GPC2-Targeted CAR T Cells Engineered with NFAT-Inducible Membrane-Tethered IL15/IL21 Exhibit Enhanced Activity against Neuroblastoma. Cancer Immunol Res. 2025 Sep 2;13(9):1363-1373. doi: 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-24-0975. PubMed PMID: 40569285; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12278764. 

  3. Zhang X#, Murray B, Shern J. Single-cell tumor microenvironment profiling informs a circulating proteome test for the interception of malignant transformation in NF1 nerve sheath tumors. Res Sq. 2025 Jun 18;. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6865989/v1. PubMed PMID: 40585258; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12204358. #correspondence

  4. Liu Z, Hong JJ, Zhang X, Sayers CM, Fang W, Xu M, Loria S, Maskal S, Lei H, Wu H, Swenson R, Meier JL, Shern JF, Thiele CJ. MYCN and KAT2A form a feedforward loop to drive an oncogenic transcriptional program in neuroblastoma. Oncogenesis. 2025 Apr 24;14(1):13. doi: 10.1038/s41389-025-00557-2. PubMed PMID: 40274766; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12022051. 

  5. Gross AM, O'Sullivan Coyne G, Dombi E, Tibery C, Herrick WG, Martin S, Angus SP, Shern JF, Rhodes SD, Foster JC, Rubinstein LV, Baldwin A, Davis C, Dixon SAH, Fagan M, Ong MJ, Wolters PL, Tamula MA, Reid O, Sankaran H, Fang F, Govindharajulu JP, Browne AT, Kaplan RN, Heisey K, On TJ, Xuei X, Zhang X, Johnson BC, Parchment RE, Clapp DW, Srivastava AK, Doroshow JH, Chen AP, Widemann BC. Selumetinib in adults with NF1 and inoperable plexiform neurofibroma: a phase 2 trial. Nat Med. 2025 Jan;31(1):105-115. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-03361-4. Epub 2025 Jan 6. PubMed PMID: 39762421; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12423960. 

  6. Xu M, Hong JJ, Zhang X, Sun M, Liu X, Kang J, Stack H, Fang W, Lei H, Lacoste X, Okada R, Jung R, Nguyen R, Shern JF, Thiele CJ, Liu Z. Targeting SWI/SNF ATPases reduces neuroblastoma cell plasticity. EMBO J. 2024 Oct;43(20):4522-4541. doi: 10.1038/s44318-024-00206-1. Epub 2024 Aug 22. PubMed PMID: 39174852; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11480351. 

  7. Nguyen R, Doubrovina E, Mousset CM, Jin BY, Okada R, Zhang X, Clavel A, Reyes-Gonzalez JM, Dyomin V, Diaz L, Zhang L, Abbas S, Sun M, Hsieh CM, Ho M, Shern JF, Gulley JL, Hinrichs CS. Cooperative Armoring of CAR and TCR T Cells by T Cell-Restricted IL15 and IL21 Universally Enhances Solid Tumor Efficacy. Clin Cancer Res. 2024 Apr 15;30(8):1555-1566. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-23-1872. PubMed PMID: 37910044; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11018485. 

  8. Liu Z, Zhang X, Xu M, Hong JJ, Ciardiello A, Lei H, Shern JF, Thiele CJ. MYCN drives oncogenesis by cooperating with the histone methyltransferase G9a and the WDR5 adaptor to orchestrate global gene transcription. PLoS Biol. 2024 Mar;22(3):e3002240. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002240. eCollection 2024 Mar. PubMed PMID: 38547242; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11003700. 

  9. Zhang X#, Gopalan V, Syed N, Hannenhalli S, Shern JF. Protocol for using single-cell sequencing to study the heterogeneity of NF1 nerve sheath tumors from clinical biospecimens. STAR Protoc.2023 May 10;4(2):102297. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102297. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 37167059; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10196853. #correspondence

  10. Xu M, Sun M, Zhang X, Nguyen R, Lei H, Shern JF, Thiele CJ, Liu Z. HAND2 Assists MYCN Enhancer Invasion to Regulate a Noradrenergic Neuroblastoma Phenotype. Cancer Res. 2023 Mar 2;83(5):686-699. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-22-2042. PubMed PMID: 36598365; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10240397. 

  11. Liu Z, Zhang X, Xu M, Lei H, Shern JF, Thiele CJ. Loss of CASZ1 tumor suppressor linked to oncogenic subversion of neuroblastoma core regulatory circuitry. Cell Death Dis. 2022 Oct 15;13(10):871. doi: 10.1038/s41419-022-05314-6. PubMed PMID: 36243768; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9569368. 

  12. Kershner LJ, Choi K, Wu J, Zhang X, Perrino M, Salomonis N, Shern JF, Ratner N. Multiple Nf1 Schwann cell populations reprogram the plexiform neurofibroma tumor microenvironment. JCI Insight. 2022 Sep 22;7(18). doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.154513. PubMed PMID: 36134665; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9675562. 

  13. Zhang X, Lou HE, Gopalan V, Liu Z, Jafarah HM, Lei H, Jones P, Sayers CM, Yohe ME, Chittiboina P, Widemann BC, Thiele CJ, Kelly MC, Hannenhalli S, Shern JF. Single-cell sequencing reveals activation of core transcription factors in PRC2-deficient malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor. Cell Rep. 2022 Sep 20;40(12):111363. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111363. PubMed PMID: 36130486; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9585487. 

  14. Nguyen R, Zhang X, Sun M, Abbas S, Seibert C, Kelly MC, Shern JF, Thiele CJ. Anti-GD2 Antibodies Conjugated to IL15 and IL21 Mediate Potent Antitumor Cytotoxicity against Neuroblastoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2022 Sep 1;28(17):3785-3796. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-22-0717. PubMed PMID: 35802683; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9444978. 

  15. Sun D, Xie XP, Zhang X, Wang Z, Sait SF, Iyer SV, Chen YJ, Brown R, Laks DR, Chipman ME, Shern JF, Parada LF. Stem-like cells drive NF1-associated MPNST functional heterogeneity and tumor progression. Cell Stem Cell. 2021 Aug 5;28(8):1397-1410.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2021.04.029. Epub 2021 May 18. PubMed PMID: 34010628; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8349880. 

  16. Dehner C*, Moon CI*, Zhang X*, Zhou Z*, Miller C, Xu H, Wan X, Yang K, Mashl J, Gosline SJ, Wang Y, Zhang X, Godec A, Jones PA, Dahiya S, Bhatia H, Primeau T, Li S, Pollard K, Rodriguez FJ, Ding L, Pratilas CA, Shern JF, Hirbe AC. Chromosome 8 gain is associated with high-grade transformation in MPNST. JCI Insight. 2021 Mar 22;6(6). doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.146351. PubMed PMID: 33591953; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8026192. *Equal contribution

  17. Andrade FO*, Liu F*, Zhang X*, Rosim MP, Dani C, Cruz I, Wang TTY, Helferich W, Li RW, Hilakivi-Clarke L. Genistein Reduces the Risk of Local Mammary Cancer Recurrence and Ameliorates Alterations in the Gut Microbiota in the Offspring of Obese Dams. Nutrients. 2021 Jan 11;13(1). doi: 10.3390/nu13010201. PubMed PMID: 33440675; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7827465. *Equal contribution

  18. Zhang X*, de Oliveira Andrade F*, Zhang H, Cruz I, Clarke R, Gaur P, Verma V, Hilakivi-Clarke L. Maternal obesity increases offspring's mammary cancer recurrence and impairs tumor immune response. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2020 Sep;27(9):469-482. doi: 10.1530/ERC-20-0065. PubMed PMID: 32580156; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7424355. *Equal contribution

  19. Hingorani P, Dinu V, Zhang X, Lei H, Shern JF, Park J, Steel J, Rauf F, Parham D, Gastier-Foster J, Hall D, Hawkins DS, Skapek SX, Labaer J, McEachron TA. Transcriptome analysis of desmoplastic small round cell tumors identifies actionable therapeutic targets: a report from the Children's Oncology Group. Sci Rep. 2020 Jul 23;10(1):12318. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-69015-w. PubMed PMID: 32703985; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7378211. 

  20. Zhang X, Murray B, Mo G, Shern JF. The Role of Polycomb Repressive Complex in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor. Genes (Basel). 2020 Mar 9;11(3). doi: 10.3390/genes11030287. Review. PubMed PMID: 32182803; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7140867. 

  21. Liu Z*, Zhang X*, Lei H, Lam N, Carter S, Yockey O, Xu M, Mendoza A, Hernandez ER, Wei JS, Khan J, Yohe ME, Shern JF, Thiele CJ. CASZ1 induces skeletal muscle and rhabdomyosarcoma differentiation through a feed-forward loop with MYOD and MYOG. Nat Commun. 2020 Feb 14;11(1):911. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-14684-4. PubMed PMID: 32060262; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7021771. * Equal contribution

  22. De Oliveira Andrade F, Yu W, Zhang X, Carney E, Hu R, Clarke R, FitzGerald K, Hilakivi-Clarke L. Effects of Jaeumkanghwa-tang on tamoxifen responsiveness in preclinical ER+ breast cancer model. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2019 Mar 1;26(3):339-353. doi: 10.1530/ERC-18-0393. PubMed PMID: 30640711; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6365679. 

  23. Zhang X, Xu GB, Zhou D, Pan YX. High-fat diet modifies expression of hepatic cellular senescence gene p16(INK4a) through chromatin modifications in adult male rats. Genes Nutr.2018;13:6. doi: 10.1186/s12263-018-0595-5. eCollection 2018. PubMed PMID: 29564021; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5853101. 

  24. Nguyen NM, de Oliveira Andrade F, Jin L, Zhang X, Macon M, Cruz MI, Benitez C, Wehrenberg B, Yin C, Wang X, Xuan J, de Assis S, Hilakivi-Clarke L. Maternal intake of high n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid diet during pregnancy causes transgenerational increase in mammary cancer risk in mice. Breast Cancer Res. 2017 Jul 3;19(1):77. doi: 10.1186/s13058-017-0866-x. PubMed PMID: 28673325; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5494892. 

  25. Zhang X, Cook KL, Warri A, Cruz IM, Rosim M, Riskin J, Helferich W, Doerge D, Clarke R, Hilakivi-Clarke L. Lifetime Genistein Intake Increases the Response of Mammary Tumors to Tamoxifen in Rats. Clin Cancer Res. 2017 Feb 1;23(3):814-824. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-16-1735. PubMed PMID: 28148690; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5654585. 

  26. Hilakivi-Clarke L, Wärri A, Bouker KB, Zhang X, Cook KL, Jin L, Zwart A, Nguyen N, Hu R, Cruz MI, de Assis S, Wang X, Xuan J, Wang Y, Wehrenberg B, Clarke R. Effects of In Utero Exposure to Ethinyl Estradiol on Tamoxifen Resistance and Breast Cancer Recurrence in a Preclinical Model. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2017 Jan;109(1). doi: 10.1093/jnci/djw188. Print 2017 Jan. PubMed PMID: 27609189; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6255695. 

  27. Sumis A, Cook KL, Andrade FO, Hu R, Kidney E, Zhang X, Kim D, Carney E, Nguyen N, Yu W, Bouker KB, Cruz I, Clarke R, Hilakivi-Clarke L. Social isolation induces autophagy in the mouse mammary gland: link to increased mammary cancer risk. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2016 Oct;23(10):839-56. doi: 10.1530/ERC-16-0359. Epub 2016 Aug 22. PubMed PMID: 27550962; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5894876. 

  28. Yuan Y, Zhang X, Weng S, Guan W, Xiang D, Gao J, Li J, Han W, Yu Y. Expression and purification of bioactive high-purity recombinant mouse SPP1 in Escherichia coli. Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2014 May;173(2):421-32. doi: 10.1007/s12010-014-0849-7. Epub 2014 Mar 25. PubMed PMID: 24664233. 

  29. Strakovsky RS, Zhang X, Zhou D, Pan YX. The regulation of hepatic Pon1 by a maternal high-fat diet is gender specific and may occur through promoter histone modifications in neonatal rats. J Nutr Biochem. 2014 Feb;25(2):170-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2013.09.016. Epub 2013 Nov 6. PubMed PMID: 24445041; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6492273. 

  30. Zhou D, Strakovsky RS, Zhang X, Pan YX. The skeletal muscle Wnt pathway may modulate insulin resistance and muscle development in a diet-induced obese rat model. Obesity (Silver Spring).2012 Aug;20(8):1577-84. doi: 10.1038/oby.2012.42. Epub 2012 Feb 21. PubMed PMID: 22349736. 

  31. Zhang X, Zhou D, Strakovsky R, Zhang Y, Pan YX. Hepatic cellular senescence pathway genes are induced through histone modifications in a diet-induced obese rat model. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2012 Mar 1;302(5):G558-64. doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00032.2011. Epub 2011 Dec 22. PubMed PMID: 22194422; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6732737. 

  32. Zhang X, Strakovsky R, Zhou D, Zhang Y, Pan YX. A maternal high-fat diet represses the expression of antioxidant defense genes and induces the cellular senescence pathway in the liver of male offspring rats. J Nutr. 2011 Jul;141(7):1254-9. doi: 10.3945/jn.111.139576. Epub 2011 May 11. PubMed PMID: 21562236. 

  33. Strakovsky RS, Zhang X, Zhou D, Pan YX. Gestational high fat diet programs hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene expression and histone modification in neonatal offspring rats. J Physiol. 2011 Jun 1;589(Pt 11):2707-17. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2010.203950. Epub 2011 Mar 28. PubMed PMID: 21486814; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3112549.