Professor Xiao Chen is the principal investigator of Chen Lab, affiliated with Marine College at Shandong University. Currently, the research on the dysregulation of gene transcription by chromatin states has been hampered by a lack of rationalized systems to dig deep into the underlying mechanism. Chen Lab hereby aims to further explore the roles of histone modifications in regulating gene transcription and maintaining cell physiological and structural stability, in response to the key question of how eukaryotes maintain cellular homeostasis.

Multiple cancers and genetic disorders arise from the failure of cellular homeostasis mechanisms due to mutations in epigenetic factors. The greatest obstacle to treating these diseases currently lies in insufficient understanding of their homeostasis maintenance mechanisms. Enhancing our knowledge of the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms governing cellular homeostasis and their evolutionary trajectories will facilitate the discovery of novel therapeutic targets for related diseases, laying the foundation for developing efficient and reliable diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Chen Lab has been focusing on epigenetic regulation mechanism of cellular homeostasis maintenance using eukaryotic models including ciliate. The findings are highlighted as follows: 

1) Clarified the gene transcription pattern and omics basis for maintaining cellular homeostasis under environmental stress, laying the foundation for further exploration of its epigenetic regulation mechanism; 

2) Elucidated the molecular mechanisms by which epigenetic factors alter gene transcription levels and regulate cellular homeostasis, expanding our understanding of the involvement of epigenetic factors in regulating cellular homeostasis; 

3) Revealed the pathogenic mechanism of cellular homeostasis imbalance caused by chromatin dysregulation and confirmed the potential diagnostic and therapeutic value of epigenetic regulation of cellular homeostasis.