Dr Delin Liu is a recent PhD graduate in the Bone and Brain Axis Group at the Perron Institute and The University of Western Australia (UWA) led by Professor Minghao Zheng.
“Currently, I am working as a resident surgeon majoring in orthopaedics at the National Center for Orthopaedics in the Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital affiliated with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China,” Dr Liu said.
“As an international medical student from China, it was a special journey for me to complete a PhD at UWA and the Perron Institute. I aim to build on the skills and international perspective I gained and build new links with Perth for both my clinical practices and research focus.”
Dr Liu’s PhD thesis is titled: ‘Regulation of blood-brain barrier by a subset of astrocytes through mitochondrial transfer’.
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a crucial protective structure in the central nervous system (CNS). Astrocytes are star-shaped brain cells that play an active role in sustaining the BBB, and mitochondria within cells generate most of the chemical energy for biological processes.
“For my project, we identified a novel mechanism of maintaining BBB integrity in which a subset of astrocytes expressing the dentin matrix protein 1 (DMP1), a genetic marker for early bone development, transfer mitochondria to endothelial cells (the lining of blood vessels) in the brain. This study provides new insights for reducing BBB breakdown in cerebrovascular diseases, neuronal degenerative diseases and ageing.
“Combining our outcomes with other studies worldwide, we suggest that astrocytes may act as a reservoir of mitochondria in the CNS that help regulate brain homeostasis.
“Currently, I’m exploring the potential role of mitofusin 2 (MFN2)-mediated mitochondrial communication between mineralised bone tissue and skeletal muscle.”
Dr Liu’s supervisors were Professor Zheng and Associate Professor Junjie Gao.
His study was undertaken at the Centre for Orthopaedic Research, UWA Medical School, the Perron Institute in Perth, Western Australia, and the Institute of Microsurgery on Extremities, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.
“I’m grateful to my colleagues and friends at these institutions for their kind guidance.
I sincerely thank my principal supervisor, Professor Zheng and my co-supervisor, A/Professor Gao, for their guidance, intellectual brilliance, encouragement, and unconditional help on my PhD research.”
Congratulations, Dr Liu!