This paper establishes a culture system called KFiC to generate and maintain formative-like pluripotent rabbit embryonic stem cells with developmental plasticity and cross-species compatibility.

bioRxiv · Oct 20, 2026 · PreprintDevelopmental Biology

Development of a BM7G((TKO/hCD46/hCD55/hTHBD/hEPCR) Donor Pig with Endogenous Promoter-Driven Transgenes for Xenotransplantation

Cong Xia, Lian Meng, Bingxiu Ma, Hubei Yu, Renquan Zhang, Lijia Wen, X J Wang, Y ZHAO, Zhen Ouyang, Yinghua Ye, Xiner Feng, Han Wu, Liangxue Lai

This paper develops a seven-gene modified pig model with endogenous promoter-driven transgenes to improve xenograft survival in xenotransplantation.

Frontiers in Immunology · Jun 23, 2026Peer-reviewedImmunology

Porcine extended pluripotent stem cell-derived somite-like mesoderm cells with Dox-driven PAX7 are robust seed cell resource for facilitating production of cultured meat

Cong Xia, Sheng Ye, Hai Wang, MK Wang, Renquan Zhang, Hubei Yu, Lijia Wen, Xueliang Wang, Yinghua Ye, Xiner Feng, Bingxiu Ma, Han Wu, Liangxue Lai

This paper establishes a method to generate porcine somite-like mesodermal cells with Dox-driven PAX7 for efficient muscle differentiation, enabling scalable cultured meat production.

bioRxiv · Mar 5, 2026 · PreprintDevelopmental Biology

Hypoimmunogenic human motor neurons induced from iPSCs in vivo substantially ameliorate ALS disease in large animal models

Na Zhang, Yang Yang, Mengqi Chen, Qingjian Zou, Longquan Quan, Jiayuan Huang, Quanjun Zhang, Yu Zhao, Zhen Ouyang, Zhongtian Zhang, Yuning Song, Min Chen, Kun Zhang, Amar Deep Sharma, Michael Ott, , Liangxue Lai

Hypoimmunogenic human motor neurons induced from iPSCs in vivo reform neuromuscular junctions and ameliorate ALS disease in pig and rabbit models.

bioRxiv · Sep 3, 2025 · PreprintNeuroscience

Transcriptome-wide identification of 5-methylcytosine by deaminase and reader protein-assisted sequencing

Jiale Zhou, Ding Zhao, Jinze Li, Deqiang Kong, Xiangrui Li, Renquan Zhang, Yuru Liang, Xun Gao, Yuqiang Qian, Di Wang, Jiahui Chen, Liangxue Lai, Yang Han, Zhanjun Li

This paper introduces DRAM, a method for transcriptome-wide m5C detection using deaminase and reader proteins, showing high overlap with BS-seq data and supporting low-input RNA.

eLife · Apr 8, 2025Peer-reviewedBiochemistry

Unraveling the role of Xist in X chromosome inactivation: insights from rabbit model and deletion analysis of exons and repeat A

Mingming Liang, Lichao Zhang, Liangxue Lai, Zhanjun Li

This study investigates the role of Xist in X chromosome inactivation using a rabbit model, showing that certain exons and repeat regions are less critical for XCI maintenance.

bioRxiv · Sep 21, 2023 · PreprintDevelopmental Biology

CIRKO: A chemical-induced reversible gene knockout system for studying gene function in situ

Hui Shi, Qin Jin, Fangbing Chen, Zhen Ouyang, Shixue Gou, Xiaoyi Liu, Lei Li, Shuangshuang Mu, Chengdan Lai, Quanjun Zhang, Yinghua Ye, Kepin Wang, Liangxue Lai

The paper introduces a chemical-induced reversible gene knockout system (CIRKO) that allows for controlled inactivation and reactivation of genes in primary cells and animal models.

bioRxiv · Aug 31, 2022 · PreprintGenetics

Highly precise base editing with CC context-specificity using engineered human APOBEC3G-nCas9 fusions

Zhiquan Liu, Siyu Chen, Huanhuan Shan, Yingqi Jia, Mao Chen, Yuning Song, Liangxue Lai, Zhanjun Li

This paper develops a base editor with CC context-specificity and relaxed PAM recognition to improve precision and targeting scope for gene modification.

BMC Biology · Aug 31, 2020Peer-reviewedMolecular Biology

A direct link between Prss53, hair curvature, and skeletal dysplasia

Jichao Deng, Yuning Song, Hongmei Liu, Tingting Sui, Mao Chen, Yuxin Zhang, Bing Yao, Yuxin Xu, Zhiquan Liu, Liangxue Lai, Zhanjun Li

This study shows that Prss53 loss in rabbits causes curved hair and skeletal dysplasia, with disrupted calcium metabolism implicated in these phenotypes.

bioRxiv · Feb 25, 2019 · PreprintGenomics

Genetically modified pigs are protected from classical swine fever virus

Zicong Xie, Daxin Pang, Hongming Yuan, Huping Jiao, Chao Lu, Kankan Wang, Qiangbing Yang, Mengjing Li, Xue Chen, Tingting Yu, Xinrong Chen, Zhen Dai, Yani Peng, Xiaochun Tang, Zhanjun Li, , Hongsheng Ouyang

This study produces transgenic pigs resistant to classical swine fever virus and shows their disease resistance is heritable to F1 offspring.

PLoS Pathogens · Dec 13, 2018Peer-reviewedGenomics

Verified the effectiveness of AsCpf1 system in a variety of vertebrate species

Zhuo Li, Zhaoying Shi, Nana Fan, Yongqiang Chen, Jing Guo, Jingchun Wu, Hong Song, Shilong Chu, Kunlun Mo, Bentian Zhao, Zhen Ouyang, Dandan Tian, Shaoyang Zhao, Jieying Zhu, Jiekai Chen, , Duanqing Pei

The paper shows that AsCpf1 activity varies across vertebrate species due to temperature differences, as demonstrated by in vitro experiments.

bioRxiv · Feb 27, 2018 · PreprintDevelopmental Biology