Allison Xu • UCSF Profiles

Allison Xu, PhD

Title(s)	Professor, Diabetes Center
School	School of Medicine
Address	513 Parnassus Avenue, MSB, #1212A San Francisco CA 94143
Phone	415-476-2807
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Overview

Research in Allison Xu’s laboratory focuses on understanding the adaptive regulation of energy balance and glucose homeostasis in response to changes of physiologic and environmental conditions. Specifically, Allison’s lab is investigating how hypothalamic and hindbrain neurons sense and integrate peripheral hormones and nutritional signals, and how these neurons regulate feeding, energy expenditure, systemic glucose and lipid metabolism. These efforts will help better understand how energy balance and glucose homeostasis are regulated and how these regulations are disrupted in obesity, type 2 diabetes and aging.

Research

Research Activities and Funding

Orexigenic AgRP neurons in the brainstem
NIH R01DK136031Mar 4, 2024 - Dec 31, 2027
Role: Principal Investigator

Blood-hypothalamus barrier and metabolic impairment in advanced aging
NIH R01AG063506Apr 1, 2019 - Jan 31, 2024
Role: Principal Investigator

UCSF Nutrition Obesity Research Center
NIH P30DK098722Aug 1, 2015 - Jul 31, 2025
Role: Co-Investigator

A brain-liver circuit in regulation of alcoholic liver disease
NIH R01AA022665Sep 1, 2014 - Jun 30, 2020
Role: Principal Investigator

Compensatory Regulation of Energy Balance by Neurogenesis in Adult Hypothalamus
NIH R01DK089094Jul 1, 2010 - Apr 30, 2016
Role: Principal Investigator

Central Regulation of Hepatic Energy Stores
NIH R01DK080427Feb 1, 2008 - Aug 31, 2017
Role: Principal Investigator

Neurogenesis as a compensatory mechanism to regulate energy balance
NIH/NIDDK R21DK080509Jul 1, 2007 - Jun 30, 2010
Role: Principal Investigator

Bibliographic

Publications

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.

Altmetrics Details

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Identification of AgRP cells in the murine hindbrain that drive feeding. Mol Metab. 2024 Feb; 80:101886. Bachor TP, Hwang E, Yulyaningsih E, Attal K, Mifsud F, Pham V, Vagena E, Huarcaya R, Valdearcos M, Vaisse C, Williams KW, Emmerson PJ, Xu AW. PMID: 38246589; PMCID: PMC10844855.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 1 Fields:
Met Metabolism
Translation:Animals
Modulation of foraging-like behaviors by cholesterol-FGF19 axis. Cell Biosci. 2023 Feb 02; 13(1):20. Huang A, Maier MT, Vagena E, Xu AW. PMID: 36732847; PMCID: PMC9893607.

View in: PubMed Mentions:
ASB4 modulates central melanocortinergic neurons and calcitonin signaling to control satiety and glucose homeostasis. Sci Signal. 2022 05 10; 15(733):eabj8204. Vagena E, Crneta J, Engström P, He L, Yulyaningsih E, Korpel NL, Cheang RT, Bachor TP, Huang A, Michel G, Attal K, Berrios DI, Valdearcos M, Koliwad SK, Olson DP, Yi CX, Xu AW. PMID: 35536884.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 3 Fields:
Cel Cell Biology Phy Physiology Sci Science
Translation:Animals Cells
A gene-diet interaction controlling relative intake of dietary carbohydrates and fats. Mol Metab. 2022 04; 58:101442. Nelson NG, Wu L, Maier MT, Lam D, Cheang R, Alba D, Huang A, Neumann DA, Hill T, Vagena E, Barsh GS, Medina MW, Krauss RM, Koliwad SK, Xu AW. PMID: 35051651; PMCID: PMC9710720.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 4 Fields:
Met Metabolism
Translation:Humans Animals
Neuronal modulation of hepatic lipid accumulation induced by bingelike drinking. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2020 05 01; 318(5):E655-E666. Ibars M, Maier MT, Yulyaningsih E, Perez L, Cheang R, Vilhelmsson A, Louie SM, Wegner SA, Yuan X, Eltzschig HK, Hopf FW, Nomura DK, Koliwad SK, Xu AW. PMID: 32045262; PMCID: PMC7272724.

View in: PubMed Mentions: Fields:
End Endocrinology Met Metabolism Phy Physiology
Translation:Animals Cells
Regulation of Hepatic Lipid Accumulation and Distribution by Agouti-Related Protein in Male Mice. Endocrinology. 2018 06 01; 159(6):2408-2420. Maier MT, Vilhelmsson A, Louie SM, Vagena E, Nomura DK, Koliwad SK, Xu AW. PMID: 29750244; PMCID: PMC6692877.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 10 Fields:
End Endocrinology
Translation:Animals
Hypothalamic Sensing of Bile Acids, a Gut Feeling. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2018 06; 29(6):363-366. Xu AW. PMID: 29477281.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 4 Fields:
End Endocrinology Met Metabolism
Acute Lesioning and Rapid Repair of Hypothalamic Neurons outside the Blood-Brain Barrier. Cell Rep. 2017 06 13; 19(11):2257-2271. Yulyaningsih E, Rudenko IA, Valdearcos M, Dahlén E, Vagena E, Chan A, Alvarez-Buylla A, Vaisse C, Koliwad SK, Xu AW. PMID: 28614713; PMCID: PMC5651178.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 25 Fields:
Cel Cell Biology Mol Molecular Biology
Translation:Animals Cells
Leptin potentiates astrogenesis in the developing hypothalamus. Mol Metab. 2015 Nov; 4(11):881-9. Rottkamp DM, Rudenko IA, Maier MT, Roshanbin S, Yulyaningsih E, Perez L, Valdearcos M, Chua S, Koliwad SK, Xu AW. PMID: 26629411; PMCID: PMC4632125.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 17 Fields:
Met Metabolism
Modulation of AgRP-neuronal function by SOCS3 as an initiating event in diet-induced hypothalamic leptin resistance. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Feb 19; 110(8):E697-706. Olofsson LE, Unger EK, Cheung CC, Xu AW. PMID: 23386726; PMCID: PMC3581908.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 72 Fields:
Sci Science
Translation:Animals Cells
Metabolic transceivers: in tune with the central melanocortin system. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Feb; 24(2):68-75. Warne JP, Xu AW. PMID: 23182906; PMCID: PMC3565100.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 9 Fields:
End Endocrinology Met Metabolism
Translation:Humans Animals
AgRP innervation onto POMC neurons increases with age and is accelerated with chronic high-fat feeding in male mice. Endocrinology. 2013 Jan; 154(1):172-83. Newton AJ, Hess S, Paeger L, Vogt MC, Fleming Lascano J, Nillni EA, Brüning JC, Kloppenburg P, Xu AW. PMID: 23161869; PMCID: PMC3529372.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 33 Fields:
End Endocrinology
Translation:Animals Cells
De novo neurogenesis in adult hypothalamus as a compensatory mechanism to regulate energy balance. J Neurosci. 2010 Jan 13; 30(2):723-30. Pierce AA, Xu AW. PMID: 20071537; PMCID: PMC3080014.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 100 Fields:
Neu Neurology
Translation:Animals Cells
Functional role of suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 upregulation in hypothalamic leptin resistance and long-term energy homeostasis. Diabetes. 2010 Apr; 59(4):894-906. Reed AS, Unger EK, Olofsson LE, Piper ML, Myers MG, Xu AW. PMID: 20068134; PMCID: PMC2844837.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 86 Fields:
End Endocrinology
Translation:Animals Cells
Functional role of c-Jun-N-terminal kinase in feeding regulation. Endocrinology. 2010 Feb; 151(2):671-82. Unger EK, Piper ML, Olofsson LE, Xu AW. PMID: 20022934; PMCID: PMC2817615.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 23 Fields:
End Endocrinology
Translation:Animals
Functional requirement of AgRP and NPY neurons in ovarian cycle-dependent regulation of food intake. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Sep 15; 106(37):15932-7. Olofsson LE, Pierce AA, Xu AW. PMID: 19805233; PMCID: PMC2747221.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 85 Fields:
Sci Science
Translation:Animals Cells
Specific physiological roles for signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 in leptin receptor-expressing neurons. Mol Endocrinol. 2008 Mar; 22(3):751-9. Piper ML, Unger EK, Myers MG, Xu AW. PMID: 18096691; PMCID: PMC2262173.

View in: PubMed Mentions: 57 Fields:
End Endocrinology Mol Molecular Biology
Translation:Animals Cells