Wanling Xuan

Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Contact Info

• 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd, MDC2104 Tampa, FL 33612-4749
  Tampa FL
• Academic Email: wxuan@usf.edu
• Academic Phone: (181) 339-6015
• View My C.V. | View My Website

Education

Interdisciplinary and Emerging Signature Programs

• Allergy, Immunology & Infectious Disease
• Biomedical Engineering & Nanomedicine
• Cardiovascular
• Cardiovascular Sciences
• Cellular and Molecular Biology

Research Interests

• Aging is not only a process of cellular decline within individual organs; it is also a progressive breakdown of communication networks that coordinate tissue homeostasis, repair, and regeneration. Our laboratory investigates how aging remodels inter-organ communication and creates functional failure across tissues, and we develop human-derived regenerative strategies to restore these lost signals. By integrating patient-derived cells, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technologies, organoids, assembloids, extracellular vesicle (EV) biology, and translational bioengineering approaches, we aim to uncover fundamental mechanisms of aging-associated organ dysfunction and develop next-generation regenerative therapeutics.
• Research Themes
• 1. Aging-Associated Organ Communication Failure
• Healthy tissues continuously exchange biological information through extracellular matrix signals, immune mediators, secreted factors, and extracellular vesicles. Aging disrupts these communication networks, leading to loss of tissue resilience and regenerative capacity. Our laboratory studies how aging alters the signaling function of tissues and how communication failure contributes to chronic diseases of aging.
• Major questions include:
• * How does aging reprogram tissues from regenerative to dysfunctional signaling states?
• * How do changes in one tissue influence distant organs?
• * Can restoration of healthy communication signals reverse age-associated functional decline?
• 2. Extracellular Vesicle-Based Regenerative Medicine
• Extracellular vesicles represent a natural communication system between cells and tissues by transferring functional proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. We investigate how aging alters EV-mediated signaling and develop human-derived EV therapeutics to restore regenerative capacity.
• Our research focuses on:
• * Human iPSC-derived muscle progenitor cell EVs as regenerative therapeutics
• * Scalable and xeno-free EV manufacturing platforms
• * Mechanistic characterization of therapeutic EV cargo and function
• * Development of EV-based treatments for age-associated diseases
• Our long-term goal is to establish EVs as a new class of regenerative biologics capable of restoring lost tissue communication.
• 3. Human Models of Aging and Disease Communication
• Traditional animal models often cannot fully capture human aging biology. We develop advanced human models to study tissue communication and therapeutic responses.
• Our platforms include:
• * Patient-derived iPSC models
• * Human organoids
• * Multicellular assembloids
• * Disease-specific regenerative models
• Research Programs
• 1. Muscle-Derived Communication and Regenerative Aging
• Skeletal muscle is one of the largest endocrine organs in the human body and plays a critical role in systemic aging regulation. We investigate how aging and disease alter muscle-derived signals and how restoring muscle communication can improve tissue regeneration. Our work has demonstrated the therapeutic potential of muscle-derived EVs for age-associated disorders and established a translational pathway toward regenerative medicine.
• 2. Muscle–Brain Communication in Neurodegenerative Disease
• Aging affects communication between peripheral tissues and the brain. We investigate how muscle-derived regenerative signals influence neuroimmune function and neurodegenerative pathology. Using human iPSC-derived microglia and brain organoid models, we study whether restoring peripheral communication can modulate:
• * neuroinflammation
• * microglial dysfunction
• * protein aggregation-associated pathology
• * neuronal injury
• 3. Cardiac adipose tissue as an aging endocrine organ
• Cardiac adipose tissue undergoes profound immune and functional remodeling during aging. We study how aging transforms cardiac adipose tissue from a homeostatic signaling organ into a pathological source of signals that contribute to HFpEF.
• Translational Mission
• Our laboratory bridges fundamental aging biology and therapeutic development. By combining human disease modeling, regenerative biology, and scalable manufacturing technologies, we aim to transform discoveries in tissue communication into clinically meaningful therapies for age-associated diseases. Our ultimate goal is to restore the biological conversations that maintain tissue health, resilience, and regeneration throughout aging.

Recent Publications

• Wang Y, Zhang Y, Wen Z, Tian B, Kao E, Liu X, Xuan W, Ordovas K, Saloner D, Liu J. Deep learning based fully automatic segmentation of the left ventricular endocardium and epicardium from cardiac cine MRI. Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery. 11(4) : 1600-1612, 2021.
• Xuan W, Khan M, Ashraf M. Pluripotent stem cell-induced skeletal muscle progenitor cells with givinostat promote myoangiogenesis and restore dystrophin in injured Duchenne dystrophic muscle. Stem cell research & therapy. 12(1) : 131, 2021.
• Shen J, Ji Y, Xie M, Zhao H, Xuan W, Yin L, Yu X, Xu F, Su S, Nie J, Xie Y, Gao Q, Ma H, Ke X, Shi Z, Fu J, Liu Z, He Y, Xiang M. Cell-modified bioprinted microspheres for vascular regeneration. Materials science & engineering. C, Materials for biological applications. 112 : 110896, 2020.
• Xuan W, Khan M, Ashraf M. Extracellular Vesicles From Notch Activated Cardiac Mesenchymal Stem Cells Promote Myocyte Proliferation and Neovasculogenesis. Frontiers in cell and developmental biology. 8 : 11, 2020.
• Xuan W, Wang L, Xu M, Weintraub NL, Ashraf M. miRNAs in Extracellular Vesicles from iPS-Derived Cardiac Progenitor Cells Effectively Reduce Fibrosis and Promote Angiogenesis in Infarcted Heart. Stem cells international. 2019 : 3726392, 2019.
• Wang Y, Zhang Y, Xuan W, Kao E, Cao P, Tian B, Ordovas K, Saloner D, Liu J. Fully automatic segmentation of 4D MRI for cardiac functional measurements. Medical physics. 46(1) : 180-189, 2019.
• Xuan W, Wang Y, Tang Y, Ali A, Hu H, Maienschein-Cline M, Ashraf M. Cardiac Progenitors Induced from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells with Cardiogenic Small Molecule Effectively Regenerate Infarcted Hearts and Attenuate Fibrosis. Shock (Augusta, Ga.). 50(6) : 627-639, 2018.
• Xuan W, Huang W, Wang R, Chen C, Chen Y, Wang Y, Tan X. Elevated circulating IL-32 presents a poor prognostic outcome in patients with heart failure after myocardial infarction. International journal of cardiology. 243 : 367-373, 2017.
• Hao H, Li X, Li Q, Lin H, Chen Z, Xie J, Xuan W, Liao W, Bin J, Huang X, Kitakaze M, Liao Y. FGF23 promotes myocardial fibrosis in mice through activation of β-catenin. Oncotarget. 7(40) : 64649-64664, 2016.
• Wei X, Wu B, Zhao J, Zeng Z, Xuan W, Cao S, Huang X, Asakura M, Xu D, Bin J, Kitakaze M, Liao Y. Myocardial Hypertrophic Preconditioning Attenuates Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy and Slows Progression to Heart Failure Through Upregulation of S100A8/A9. Circulation. 131(17) : 1506-17; discussion 1517, 2015.
• Chen C, Shen L, Cao S, Li X, Xuan W, Zhang J, Huang X, Bin J, Xu D, Li G, Kitakaze M, Liao Y. Cytosolic CARP promotes angiotensin II- or pressure overload-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy through calcineurin accumulation. PloS one. 9(8) : e104040, 2014.
• Xuan W, Wu B, Chen C, Chen B, Zhang W, Xu D, Bin J, Liao Y. Resveratrol improves myocardial ischemia and ischemic heart failure in mice by antagonizing the detrimental effects of fractalkine*. Critical care medicine. 40(11) : 3026-33, 2012.
• Liao Y, Bin J, Asakura M, Xuan W, Chen B, Huang Q, Xu D, Ledent C, Takashima S, Kitakaze M. Deficiency of type 1 cannabinoid receptors worsens acute heart failure induced by pressure overload in mice. European heart journal. 33(24) : 3124-33, 2012.
• Xie J, Liao Y, Yang L, Wu J, Liu C, Xuan W, Li M, Zhang L, Liu Y, Wu P, Bin J. Ultrasound molecular imaging of angiogenesis induced by mutant forms of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α. Cardiovascular research. 92(2) : 256-66, 2011.
• Xuan W, Liao Y, Chen B, Huang Q, Xu D, Liu Y, Bin J, Kitakaze M. Detrimental effect of fractalkine on myocardial ischaemia and heart failure. Cardiovascular research. 92(3) : 385-93, 2011.
• Yan Y, Liao Y, Yang L, Wu J, Du J, Xuan W, Ji L, Huang Q, Liu Y, Bin J. Late-phase detection of recent myocardial ischaemia using ultrasound molecular imaging targeted to intercellular adhesion molecule-1. Cardiovascular research. 89(1) : 175-83, 2011.
• Liao Y, Xuan W, Zhao J, Bin J, Zhao H, Asakura M, Funahashi T, Takashima S, Kitakaze M. Antihypertrophic effects of adiponectin on cardiomyocytes are associated with the inhibition of heparin-binding epidermal growth factor signaling. Biochemical and biophysical research communications. 393(3) : 519-25, 2010.
• Fahim, Muhammad Ahmad|Yao, Yao|Tipparaju, Srinivas M.|Xuan, Wanling The heart-brain crosstalk in age related cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases Fluids and Barriers of the CNS [20458118]. 22(1), 2025.