Zhuojuan Luo
Ph.D., Professor (PI)
School of Life Science and Technology, Southeast University
2 Sipailou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210096, China
Email: zjluo@seu.edu.cn
Education Background & Academic Experience
1998 - 2002, Anhui University, B.S.
2002 - 2005, Southeast University, M.S.
2006 - 2011, National University of Singapore, Ph.D.
2011 - 2015, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, USA, Postdoctoral Fellow
2015, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Postdoctoral Fellow
2016 - present, School of Life Science and Technology, Southeast University, Professor
Research Interests
Gene transcription is the central process of genetic information expression and forms the foundation of cellular life. Transcription mediated by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is precisely regulated in a series of stages—initiation, promoter-proximal pausing, elongation, and termination—enabling the dynamic decoding of genomic information. Transcription factors, epigenetic regulators, and three-dimensional chromatin architecture converge into a multilayered network that controls gene expression in space and time. This network plays a decisive role in cell fate determination and directs embryonic and individual development; its dysregulation can lead to infertility, miscarriage, birth defects, or malignant transformation.
Our research focuses on the transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of cell fate determination. By systematically dissecting the mechanisms underlying gene expression control, we have established an integrated framework that bridges new concepts in transcription regulation with cell fate decisions, embryonic development, and disease.
Publications
1.Xie P, Shen J, Yang Y, Wang X, Liu W, Cao H, Zheng Y, Wu C, Mao G, Chen L, He J, Zheng W, Yang Z, Zhang X, Jiang X, Yang X, Fang K, Zhang Z, Xue X, Chen X, Wang C, Liu X, Liu L, Yao X, Jing N, Xie W, Liu J†, Cao H†, Luo Z†, Fang X†, Lin C†. Digital reconstruction of full embryos during early mouse organogenesis. Cell. 2025;188(17):4754-4772.
2.He J, Yang Y, Jiang R, Zheng Y, Yang X, Jiang X, Xue X, Yang Z, Jing N, Cao H†, Luo Z†, Wei K†, Xie P†, Lin C†. Integration of single-cell and spatial transcriptomics by SEU-TCA reveals the spatial origin of early cardiac progenitors. Genome Biol. 2025;26(1):158.
3.Guo C, Si S, Fang H, Shuai S, Zhang Y, Du X, Duan B, Wu J, Yao H, Ge Z, Lin C†, Luo Z†. LEDGF/p75 promotes transcriptional pausing through preventing SPT5 phosphorylation. Sci Adv. 2025;11(3):eadr2131.
4.Zhu S, Xie P, Yang Y, Wang Y, Zhang C, Zhang Y, Si S, Zhang J, He J, Si H, Fang K, Ma B, Jiang X, Huang L, Li J, Min T, Zheng B, Da L, Lin D, Gao K, Li Y, Huang M, Qiao F, Huo H, Feng H, Zhao H, Chen Z, Xu Z, Xie J, Cao H, Liu J, Yao X, Xie W, Sun Y, Wu K, Xiong B†, Hu P†, Luo Z†, Lin C†. Maternal ELL3 loss-of-function leads to oocyte aneuploidy and early miscarriage. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2025;32(2):381-392.
5.Xie P, Zhu S, Zhang J*, Wang X, Jiang X, Xiong F, Chen L, Fang K, Ji Y, Zheng B, Da L, Cao H, Sun Y†, Luo Z†, Lin C†. 4D live tracing reveals distinct movement trajectories of meiotic chromosomes. Life Med. 2024.3(6): lnae038.
6.Xie P, Jiang X, He J, Pan Q, Yang X, Zheng Y, Fan W, Wu C, Zheng W, Fang K, Si S, Zhu S, Yang Y, Zhong T, Yang Z, Wei K, Xie W, Jing N†, Luo Z†, Lin C†. Epigenetic delineation of the earliest cardiac lineage segregation by single-cell multi-omics. eLife.
7.Mao G, Yang Y, Luo Z†, Lin C†, Xie P†. SpatialQC: transcriptome data automated quality control for spatial transcriptome data. Bioinformatics. 2024;40(8):btae458.
8.Meng S, Liu X, Zhu S, Xie P, Fang H, Pan Q, Fang K, Li F, Zhang J, Che Z, Zhang Q, Mao G, Wang Y, Hu P, Chen K, Sun F, Xie W, Luo Z†, Lin C†. Young LINE-1 transposon 5'UTRs marked by elongation factor ELL3 function as enhancers to regulate naïve pluripotency in embryonic stem cells. Nat Cell Biol. 2023;25(9):1319-1331.
9.Che Z, Liu X, Dai Q*, Fang K, Guo C, Yue J, Fang H, Xie P, Luo Z†, Lin C†. Distinct roles of the two SEC scaffold proteins, AFF1 and AFF4, in regulating RNA Pol II transcription elongation. J Mol Cell Biol. 2023;15(8):mjad049.
10.Guo C, Zhang Y, Shuai S, Sigbessia A, Hao S, Xie P, Jiang X, Luo Z†, Lin C†. The super elongation complex (SEC) mediates phase transition of SPT5 during transcriptional pause release. EMBO Rep. 2023;24(2):e55699.
11.Guo C, Luo Z†, Lin C†. Phase separation properties in transcriptional organization. Biochemistry. 2022;61(22):2456-2460.
12.Zhao X, Fang K, Liu X, Yao R, Wang M, Li F, Hao S, He J, Wang Y, Fan M, Huang W, Li Y, Gao C, Lin C†, Luo Z†. QSER1 preserves the suppressive status of the pro-apoptotic genes to prevent apoptosis. Cell Death Differ. 2022;29(11):2249-2262.
13.Wang Y, Ma B, Liu X, Gao G, Che Z, Fan M, Meng S, Zhao X, Sugimura R, Cao H, Zhou Z, Xie J, Lin C†, Luo Z†. ZFP281-BRCA2 prevents R-loop accumulation during DNA replication. Nat Commun. 2022;13(1):3493.
14.Guo C, Luo Z†, Lin C†. Phase separation, transcriptional elongation control, and human diseases. J Mol Cell Biol. 2021;13(4):314-318.
15.Yue J, Dai Q, Hao S, Zhu S, Liu X, Tang Z, Li M, Fang H, Lin C†, Luo Z†. Suppression of the NTS-CPS1 regulatory axis by AFF1 in lung adenocarcinoma cells. J Biol Chem. 2021;296:100319.
16.Du H, Chen C, Wang Y, Yang Y, Che Z, Liu X, Meng S, Guo C, Xu M, Fang H, Wang F, Lin C†, Luo Z†. RNF219 interacts with CCR4-NOT in regulating stem cell differentiation. J Mol Cell Biol. 2020;12(11):894-905.
17.Guo C, Che Z, Yue J, Xie P, Hao S, Xie W, Luo Z†, Lin C†. ENL initiates multivalent phase separation of the super elongation complex (SEC) in controlling rapid transcriptional activation. Sci Adv. 2020;6(14):eaay4858.
18.Luo Z, Liu X, Xie H, Wang Y, Lin C†. ZFP281 recruits MYC to active promoters in regulating transcriptional initiation and elongation. Mol Cell Biol. 2019;39(24):e00329-19.
19.Zhang Y, Wang C, Liu X, Yang Q, Ji H, Yang M, Xu M, Zhou Y, Xie W, Luo Z, Lin C†. AFF3-DNA methylation interplay in maintaining the mono-allelic expression pattern of XIST in terminally differentiated cells. J Mol Cell Biol. 2018;10(6):484-489.
20.Dai Q, Shen Y, Wang Y*, Wang X, Francisco JC, Luo Z, Lin C†. Striking a balance: regulation of transposable elements by Zfp281 and Mll2 in mouse embryonic stem cells. Nucleic Acids Res. 2017;45(20):11786-11798.
21,Francisco JC, Dai Q, Luo Z, Wang Y, Chong RH, Tan YJ, Xie W, Lee GH, Lin C†. Transcriptional elongation control of the HBV cccDNA transcription by super elongation complex (SEC) and BRD4. Mol Cell Biol. 2017;37(19):e00040-17. (Cover)
22.Wang Y, Shen Y, Dai Q, Yang Q, Zhang Y, Wang X, Xie W, Luo Z†, Lin C†. A permissive chromatin state regulated by ZFP281-AFF3 in controlling the imprinted Meg3 polycistron. Nucleic Acids Res. 2017;45(3):1177-1185.
23.Luo Z, Lin C†. Enhancer, epigenetics and human diseases. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2016;36:27-33.
24.Luo Z, Lin C, Ashley RW, Bartom E, Gao X, Smith E, Shilatifard A. Regulation of imprinted gene expression by allele-specific enhancer activity. Genes Dev. 2016;30(1):92-101.
25,Luo Z, Gao X, Lin C, Smith ER, Marshall SA, Swanson SK, Florens L, Washburn MP, Shilatifard A. Zic2 is an enhancer-binding factor required for embryonic stem cell specification. Mol Cell. 2015;57(4):685-694.
26.Lin C, Garrus AS, Luo Z, Guo F, Shilatifard A. The RNA Pol II elongation factor Ell3 marks enhancers in ES cells and primes future gene activation. Cell. 2013;152(1-2):144-156.
27.Luo Z, Lin C, Shilatifard A. The super elongation complex (SEC) family in transcriptional control. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2012;13(9):543-547.
28.Luo Z, Lin C, Guest E, Garrett AS, Mohaghegh N, Swanson S, Marshall S, Florens L, Washburn MP, Shilatifard A. The super elongation complex family of RNA polymerase II elongation factors: gene target specificity and transcriptional output. Mol Cell Biol. 2012;32(13):2608-2617.