PEI Gang, a cell biologist, is a professor at Tongji University. He received his BSc and MSc from Shenyang College of Pharmacy (China) in 1981 and 1984 respectively, and his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) in 1991. He was elected academician of CAS in 1999.

PEI is a world-leading expert in the area of GPCR signaling regulation and functions. He is mainly engaged in the research of cell signal transduction and its regulation mechanism.

Findings:

● A novel function of β-arrestin 1 as a cytoplasm-nucleus messenger in GPCR signaling and further elucidate an epigenetic mechanism for direct GPCR signaling from cell membrane to the nucleus through signal-dependent histone modification.

● The important role of opioid receptor signal desensitization and negative feedback regulation in the formation of opioid addiction;

● The crosstalk between the excitatory amino acid receptor and the opioid receptor signal transduction pathway;

● Oxidized low-density lipoprotein can inhibit the growth of smooth muscle cells by activating p38MAPK through the G protein pathway;

● Albumen trichosanthin, an active ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine, can bind to HIV co-receptors (chemokine receptors), enhance the activation of the receptors, and exert anti-HIV effects.

● A five-time transmembrane chemokine receptor has the function of a normal seven-time transmembrane GCPR.

His bio is available on the official website of CAS:

http://casad.cas.cn/sourcedb_ad_cas/zw2/ysxx/smkxhyxxb/200906/t20090624_1803222.html