Zhangying Cai

Program: Immunology

Current advisor: Marco Colonna, MD

Undergraduate university: Peking University, 2017

Enrollment year: 2019

Research summary
1. The role of microglial autophagy in their responses against Alzheimer’s disease; 2. Trem2/Dap10 signaling in microglia homeostasis and anti-amyloid response.

Graduate publications
Cai Z, Wang S, Cao S, Chen Y, Penati S, Peng V, Yuede CM, Beatty WL, Lin K, Zhu Y, Zhou Y, Colonna M. 2025 Loss of ATG7 in microglia impairs UPR, triggers ferroptosis, and weakens amyloid pathology control. J Exp Med, 222(4):e20230173.. PMCID: PMC11823820

Penati S, Brioschi S, Cai Z, Han CZ, Colonna M. 2025 Mechanisms and environmental factors shaping the ecosystem of brain macrophages. Front Immunol, 16():1539988

Du S, Zhou Y, Li D, Lier J, Cella M, Tada M, Hamasaki H, Wu J, Cai Z, Orthmann-Murphy JL, Kakita A, Kipnis J, Bergner CG, Colonna M. 2025 Mutations in the human CSF1R gene impact microglia’s maintenance of brain white matter integrity. Nat Immunol, 26(7):1198–211. PMCID:

Hou J, Chen Y, Cai Z, Heo GS, Yuede CM, Wang Z, Lin K, Saadi F, Trsan T, Nguyen AT, Constantopoulos E, Larsen RA, Zhu Y, Wagner ND, McLaughlin N, Kuang XC, Barrow AD, Li D, Zhou Y, Wang S, Gilfillan S, Gross ML, Brioschi S, Liu Y, Holtzman DM, Colonna M. 2024 Antibody-mediated targeting of human microglial leukocyte Ig-like receptor B4 attenuates amyloid pathology in a mouse model. Sci Transl Med, 16(741)::eadj9052. PMCID: PMC11977387

Cao S, Fachi JL, Ma K, Ulezko Antonova A, Wang Q, Cai Z, Kaufman RJ, Ciorba MA, Deepak P, Colonna M. 2024 The IRE1α/XBP1 pathway sustains cytokine responses of group 3 innate lymphoid cells in inflammatory bowel disease. J Clin Invest, 134(13):e174198. PMCID: PMC11214543

Hou J, Zhou Y, Cai Z, Terekhova M, Swain A, Andhey PS, Guimaraes RM, Ulezko Antonova A, Qiu T, Sviben S, Strout G, Fitzpatrick JAJ, Chen Y, Gilfillan S, Kim DH, Van Dyken SJ, Artyomov MN, Colonna M. 2023 Transcriptomic atlas and interaction networks of brain cells in mouse CNS demyelination and remyelination. Cell Rep, 42(4):112293. PMCID: PMC10511667

Zhou Y, Tada M, Cai Z, Andhey PS, Swain A, Miller KR, Gilfillan S, Artyomov MN, Takao M, Kakita A, Colonna M.. 2023 Human early-onset dementia caused by DAP12 deficiency reveals a unique signature of dysregulated microglia. Nat Immunol, 24(3):545-57. PMCID: PMC9992145

Wang S, Sudan R, Peng V, Zhou Y, Du S, Yuede CM, Lei T, Hou J, Cai Z, Cella M, Nguyen K, Poliani PL, Beatty WL, Chen Y, Cao S, Lin K, Rodrigues C, Ellebedy AH, Gilfillan S, Brown GD, Holtzman DM, Brioschi S, Colonna M. 2022 TREM2 drives microglia response to amyloid-β via SYK-dependent and -independent pathways. Cell, 185(22):4153-4169.e19. PMCID: PMC9625082