About Shu Jeffrey Zhu
Our laboratory focuses on elucidating how gut commensal bacteria and their metabolites orchestrate host antiviral mucosal immunity to combat enteric viral infections. We aim to decipher the molecular mechanisms by which microbial metabolites—such as short-chain fatty acids, bile acids, and aromatic amino acids—directly or indirectly modulate intestinal epithelial and innate immune cell functions under infectious or inflammatory conditions.
Popular Content
In severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus infection, systemic inflammation is associated with depletion of all-trans retinoic acid. Our study shows that restoring this metabolite restrains AP-1-driven cytokine production through an RXRα–PPARγ–c-Jun axis in macrophages.
How gut bacteria team up to heal the gut – a story of two papers
Shu Jeffrey Zhu and his team have published two companion papers in Nature Communications: one on the IPA‑PPARα‑HMGCS2‑BHB axis (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69341-z) and one on the BC‑ILA‑IPA‑HOPX⁺ reserve stem cell axis (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70062-6).