CIMR-Yutao Wang

Research Group

Yutao Wang

wangyutao(at)cimrbj.ac.cn

Lab Website

Assistant Investigator

Nuclear Receptors, Antiviral Innate Immunity,

Glioblastoma, Oncolytic Virotherapy, Cancer Immunotherapy

wangyutao(at)cimrbj.ac.cn

Lab Website

B.S. in Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, China

Ph.D. in Cell biology, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, China

Work Experience

2025.7-Present

Assistant Investigator, Chinese Institute for Immunology, Chinese Institutes for Medical Research, Beijing, China

2024.8-2025.6

Postdoctoral Fellow, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA

2020.1-2024.8

Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA

2016.9-2019.12

Assistant Research Scientist, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

Honors and Awards

2025

Editorial Board Member, Rheumatology & Autoimmunity

2025

Distinguished Young Scholar of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Overseas)

Research Interests

The Wang laboratory focuses on the functional roles and translational potential of nuclear receptor (NR) family members in antiviral immunity and cancer therapy. The lab aims to elucidate the transcriptional and non-transcriptional mechanisms by which NRs regulate innate immune activation, oncolytic virus replication, viral immune evasion, and the establishment and remodeling of the tumor immune microenvironment. By integrating CRISPR-based functional screening, multi-omics profiling, synthetic biology, and small-molecule compound screening, the lab seeks to systematically identify druggable NR targets and develop mechanism-guided combination strategies to enhance antiviral and anticancer therapeutic efficacy.

Main Research Topics:

1. NR regulation of antiviral innate immune responses

We investigate the transcription-dependent and transcription-independent mechanisms by which NRs regulate type I IFN signaling and inflammasome activation, defining their roles in viral infection, immune activation, and immune homeostasis.

2. NR regulation of oncolytic virus replication and immune evasion

We examine how NRs reguolate oncolytic virus infection, replication, tumor cell lysis, and virus-mediated immune evasion, providing mechanistic insights for optimizing oncolytic virotherapy.

3. Targeting NRs to enhance tumor sensitivity to radiotherapy and chemotherapy

We study how NR-mediated metabolic reprogramming and innate immune activation regulate tumor radiosensitivity and chemoresistance, with the goal of developing NR-targeted therapeutic strategies.

4. NR regulation of the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment

We elucidate how NRs regulate the differentiation, function, and immunosuppressive activity of intratumoral MDSCs, Tregs, and other immunosuppressive cell populations, aiming to identify targets that enhance tumor immunotherapy sensitivity.

Major Contributions

1. Developed an innovative in vivo Rainbow-CRISPR screening platform and systematically investigated the nuclear receptor family in the differentiation and homeostatic regulation of 28 immune cell types, revealing that retinoic acid receptors govern the fate of GATA6⁺ large peritoneal macrophages through transcriptional control of cell differentiation and inflammasome-mediated regulation of cell death (Immunity, 2024, first author).

2. Discovered a novel TRAF6-mediated Lys6-linked polyubiquitination of ASK1 , which plays a pivotal role in hepatic inflammation and fibrosis (Hepatology, 2019, first author); and identified NLK as a key suppressor of hepatic glucose production by inhibiting gluconeogenesis (Cell Metabolism, 2021, co-first author).

3. Identified the critical roles of the Caspase family in maintaining antiviral innate immune homeostasis and preservingimmunological silence during apoptosis (Immunity, 2017, first author; Molecular Cell, 2019, co-first author).

Representative Publications *：Co-first author; #：Co-corresponding author

Wang Y, Zhang Y, Kim K, Han J, Okin D, Jiang Z, Yang L, Subramaniam A, Means TK, Nestlé FO, Fitzgerald KA, Randolph GJ, Lesser CF, Kagan JC, Mathis D, Benoist C. A pan-family screen of nuclear receptors in immunocytes reveals ligand-dependent inflammasome control. Immunity, 2024, 57: 2737-2754. DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2024.10.010.

Ji YX*, Wang Y*, Li PL*, Cai L*, Wang XM, Bai L, Liu Z, Tian H, Tian S, Zhang P, Zhang XJ, Cheng X, Yuan Y^#, She Z^#, Li H^#. A kinome screen reveals that Nemo-like kinase is a key suppressor of hepatic gluconeogenesis. Cell Metabolism, 2021, 33: 1171-1186. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2021.04.006.

Wang Y*, Wen H*, Fu JJ*, Cai L, Li PL, Zhao CL, Dong ZF, Ma JP, Wang X, Tian H, Zhang Y, Liu Y, Cai JJ, She ZG, Huang Z, Li W^#, Li H^#. Hepatocyte TNF receptor-associated factor 6 aggravates hepatic inflammation and fibrosis by promoting lysine 6-linked polyubiquitination of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1. Hepatology, 2020, 71: 93-111. DOI: 10.1002/hep.30822.

Ning X*, Wang Y*, Jing M*, Sha M, Lv M, Gao P, Zhang R, Huang X, Feng J-M, Jiang Z. Apoptotic caspases suppress type I interferon production via the cleavage of cGAS, MAVS, and IRF3. Molecular Cell, 2019, 74: 19-31. DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2019.02.013.

Wang Y*, Ning X*, Gao P, Wu S, Sha M, Lv M, Zhou X, Gao J, Fang R, Meng G, Su X, Jiang Z. Inflammasome activation triggers caspase-1-mediated cleavage of cGAS to regulate responses to DNA virus infection. Immunity, 2017, 46: 393-404. DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2017.02.011.

Full List of Publications Can Be Found here