Liangbo Sun
Researcher studying phosphorylation-based control of autophagy initiation and its role in metabolic liver disease
Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, China
Sun is based in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry at Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University) in Chongqing, China. In the 2026 Nature Communications study, Sun (first author) led the work uncovering how the deubiquitinase OTUB1 is switched on by starvation: ERK phosphorylates OTUB1, stabilizing it against degradation and letting it drive up DEPTOR, a natural brake on mTOR.
The team showed in mice that restoring this fasting-triggered ERK-OTUB1-DEPTOR-mTOR relay could counteract the mTOR-activating effect of a Western diet and ease progression of MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease), offering a mechanistic account of why fasting benefits the liver.
Milestones in the Atlas
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | M | Phosphorylation of OTUB1 promotes autophagy initiation under starvation SUN2026B First author; led the identification of the ERK-OTUB1-DEPTOR axis that inhibits mTOR and drives starvation-induced autophagy, with relevance to fasting's protective effect against MASLD. |
Co-authors in the Atlas
People with a profile here who share at least one study with Liangbo Sun.
- Jiqin Lian Biochemist studying deubiquitinase signalling in autophagy and metabolic disease