Mingxi Liu, Ph.D.
Professor, Doctoral Advisor
Research Interests in Reproductive Medicine:
Genes related to male gametogenesis
Mechanisms of male infertility
Address: Room B224, Xuehai Building, Nanjing Medical University
Phone: (Lab) +86-25-86869385
E-mail:mingxi.liu@njmu.edu.cn
Biography:
Dr. Mingxi Liu, male, Ph.D. In 2008, he started his doctoral study at Nanjing Medical University, majoring in reproductive medicine under the supervision of Professors Jiahao Sha and Zuo-Min Zhou. In October 2012, Dr. Liu joined the laboratory of Academician Bernard Robaire (President of the American Society of Andrology) at McGill University, Canada, for postdoctoral research.
As the founder of the Human Sperm Project, Dr. Liu established a multi-center study on sperm quantity and quality across eight provinces/provincial-level cities, and developed a high-speed imaging, computer-based system for analyzing sperm flagellar motility patterns. He elucidated the key molecular mechanisms underlying chromatin remodeling and head deformation in spermatogenic cells, and uncovered core mechanisms of sperm flagellar axoneme components, their functions, and accessory apparatus assembly. His research includes revealing new functions and mechanisms of axonemal subcomponents N-DRC and RS in sperm axonemes; identifying MIVA, the largest subtype of asthenozoospermia; discovering mitochondria sheath-dependent TEX44-CPT1B matrix assembly that restricts fatty acid transport, and clarifying the mechanisms by which sperm limit fatty acid utilization—providing new insights into energy supply and transfer during sperm motility.
As (co-)corresponding author, he has published 40 papers in leading journals, such as Cell, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, PNAS, Nature Communications, Cell Research, and Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy.
He served as the only Chinese member of the Publication Committee of The Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR) from 2018 to 2021, and is editorial board member of Journal of Reproduction and Development, Discover Life, and peer reviewer for prestigious journals including PNAS, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Human Reproduction Update, Nature Communications, Science Advances, etc.
Dr. Liu is principal investigator for one National Key Research and Development Program project, five General Projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and one Jiangsu Distinguished Youth Fund. He was awarded the Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award (2015), and the First Prize of the National Maternity and Child Health Science and Technology Award/Natural Science Award (2021).
Research Grants:
National Key R&D Program project
Title: Mechanisms of Focal Spermatogenic Disorders Caused by Nuclear and Mitochondrial Genome Abnormalities
Grant No.: 2022YFC2702702
Duration: 2022.12–2025.11
Funding: 2.85 million RMB
Role: PI, Ongoing
National Natural Science Foundation of China, General Project
Title: Mechanistic Study of SCCPDH-CPT1B in the Assembly of Sperm Mitochondrial Sheath
Grant No.: 32470895
Duration: 2025.01–2028.12
Funding: 0.5 million RMB
Role: PI, Ongoing
National Natural Science Foundation of China, General Project
Title: Functional Study of Downstream Open Reading Frames (dORFs) of mRNA during Spermatogenesis
Grant No.: 32270899
Duration: 2023.01–2026.12
Funding: 0.54 million RMB
Role: PI, Ongoing
Jiangsu Provincial Distinguished Youth Science Fund
Grant No.: BK20230004
Funding: 1.5 million RMB
Role: PI, Ongoing
Selected Publications:
Major spliceosome defects cause male infertility and are associated with nonobstructive azoospermia in humans.
Wu H, Sun L, Wen Y, Liu Y, Yu J, Mao F, Wang Y, Tong C, Guo X, Hu Z, Sha J, Liu M*, Xia L*. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2016 Apr 12;113(15):4134-9.TCTE1 is a conserved component of the dynein regulatory complex and is required for motility and metabolism in mouse spermatozoa.
Castaneda JM, Hua R, Miyata H, Oji A, Guo Y, Cheng Y, Zhou T, Guo X, Cui Y, Shen B, Wang Z, Hu Z, Zhou Z, Sha J, Prunskaite-Hyyrylainen R, Yu Z, Ramirez-Solis R, Ikawa M*, Matzuk MM*, Liu M*. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2017 Jul 3;114(27):E5370-E5378.An essential role for PNLDC1 in piRNA 3′ end trimming and male fertility in mice.
Zhang Y, Guo R, Cui Y, Zhu Z, Zhang Y, Wu H, Zheng B, Yue Q, Bai S, Zeng W, Guo X, Zhou Z, Shen B, Zheng K, Liu M*, Ye L*, Sha J*. Cell Res. 2017 Nov;27(11):1392-1396.FBXO47 regulates telomere-inner nuclear envelope integration by stabilizing TRF2 during meiosis.
Hua R, Wei H, Liu C, Zhang Y, Liu S, Guo Y, Cui Y, Zhang X, Guo X, Li W*, Liu M*. Nucleic Acids Res. 2019 Nov 14. pii: gkz992. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkz992.Differential requirements of IQUB for the assembly of radial spoke 1 and the motility of mouse cilia and flagella.
Zhang X, Xiao Z, Zhang J, Xu C, Liu S, Cheng L, Zhou S, Zhao S, Zhang Y, Wu J, Wang Y*, Liu M*. Cell Rep. 2022 Nov 22;41(8):111683.DRC3 is an assembly adapter of the nexin-dynein regulatory complex functional components during spermatogenesis in humans and mice.
Zhou S, Yuan S, Zhang J, Meng L, Zhang X, Liu S, Lu G, Lin G, Liu M*, Tan YQ*. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2023 Jan 10;8(1):26.Structures of sperm flagellar doublet microtubules expand the genetic spectrum of male infertility.
Zhou L, Liu H, Liu S, Yang X, Dong Y, Pan Y, Xiao Z, Zheng B, Sun Y, Huang P, Zhang X, Hu J, Sun R, Feng S, Zhu Y, Liu M*, Gui M*, Wu J*. Cell. 2023 Jun 22;186(13):2897-2910.Core N-DRC components play a crucial role in embryonic development and postnatal organ development.
Ren C, Sun S, Zhu J, Zhou S, Zhang X, Bian S, Wang Y*, Zhang J*, Liu M*. Cell Death Dis. 2025 Mar 15;16(1):176.A metabolic hub in ciliary and flagellar motion.
Xiao Z, Liu M*. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2025 Aug;32(8):1327-1328.The TEX44-CPT1B axis regulates mitochondrial sheath assembly and fatty acid oxidation in sperm.
Zhi E, Bai H, Ren C, Dong Y, Zhang J, Xu Y, Tan C, Pan Y, Zhou L, Li P, Tan Y, Zhou Y, Meng L, Xu J, Zhang Y, Xu S, Ji Z, Zhao L, Jiang M, Li Z, Yao C, Zhou Y*, Wu J*, Yang X*, Liu S*, Liu M*. Nat Commun. 2025 Aug 23;16(1):7864.