Xiaoyan Zhang
Nephrologist at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, and senior author of a 2026 study linking the enzyme USP7 to mTOR activation and kidney scarring
Department of Nephrology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University (at the time of the study, 2026)
Xiaoyan Zhang is the senior author of a 2026 study on kidney fibrosis, the scarring that slowly destroys function in chronic kidney disease. The team, with Shiqi Lv as first author, described a chain of control. The enzyme USP7 removes destruction tags from KDM5B, an enzyme that edits the chemical marks on DNA packaging proteins. Stable KDM5B shuts down the gene for TSC1, one half of the main brake on mTOR, and mTOR activity then rises and promotes scarring.
Blocking USP7, by deleting it or with a drug, brought TSC1 back, lowered mTOR activity and reduced fibrosis in two mouse models of kidney injury. In human kidney biopsies USP7 was higher in chronic kidney disease and rose with the amount of scarring, which is an association rather than proof of cause. The authors propose the USP7-KDM5B-TSC1-mTOR axis as a possible drug target.
PubMed gives the Department of Nephrology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, as the affiliation. Because Xiaoyan Zhang is a very common name, no wider publication record or career details are given here without a second independent link.
Milestones in the Atlas
A selection, not a full bibliography: only papers that meet the Atlas inclusion criteria.
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | A | Deubiquitinase USP7 stabilizes the histone demethylase KDM5B and promotes the progression of renal fibrosis through the TSC1/mTOR axis LV2026S Senior author: led the study showing that the USP7-KDM5B axis silences TSC1, activates mTOR and promotes kidney fibrosis in mice, with supporting correlations in human CKD tissue. |
Co-authors in the Atlas 1
People with a profile here who share at least one study with Xiaoyan Zhang.
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- Shiqi Lv Kidney researcher at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, and first author of a 2026 study tracing a chain of enzymes that switches on mTOR and drives scarring in damaged kidneys
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