Subo Yuan, MD, PhDAssistant Professor

 
Room 2.138C Medical Research Building
Route: 1069 | Tel: (409) 772-6548 | Email: suyuan@utmb.edu
Education and Training

Ph.D. Public Health, West China University of Medical Sciences, China 
Residency, Province Hospital of Occupational Disease, GuiZhou, China 
Postdoc (1), Drug Toxicology, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China 
Postdoc (2), Neuroscience, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston 

Research interests:

Our lab is a sensation and pain research lab with ongoing research in the following subject areas:

One current project in our laboratory is to investigate the pathogenesis of small extracellular vesicles (sEV) in HIV associated chronic pain. sEV are tiny lipid bound sacs released by various type cells containing biological active cargos that act for intercellular communication by remotely or locally releasing cargo to recipient cells, influencing the recipient cells physiological and pathological processes. Our goal is to elucidate the nociceptive role of sEV in inducing and maintaining chronification of different types of pain.

Nociceptors are receptors distributed within the epidermis that detect potentially damaging stimuli, including noxious mechanical, chemical, and thermal stimuli.  Nociceptor activation causes acute pain, warning organisms of tissue injury and leading to protective behavior. Despite these essential protective functions, heightened sensitivity/maladaptation of nociceptor function can lead to debilitating chronic pain that is the area we focus on.

Our lab investigates the pathogenesis of neuropathy caused by diseases and neuronal injury. The mechanism of neuropathy intermingled with nociceptors, immunocytes and keratinocyte cells and the interaction outcomes is the focus of our neuropathy work. My current R01 grant focuses on the pathogenesis of HIV-1 gp120, an envelope viral protein and anti-retroviral therapy induced neuropathy and chronic pain. In addition, we also work on diabetic associated neuropathy.
We welcome the next generation of scientists to join us and work together to investigate the mechanisms of chronic pain.

Selected Publications:

Isaac Gamez, Ajay Pal, Connor Haines, Subo Yuan HIV-associated sensory neuropathy: current progress and future challenges. NeuroImmune Pharmacology and Therapeutics. December 2025. Journal impact factor: 5.2

Junying Zheng, Michael Spurgat, Mark Maurelli, Zachary Watson, Sakib Hossain, Adriana Dibua, Subo Yuan, Xin Liu, Benjamin B. Gelman & Shao-Jun Tang Identification of a reactive astrocyte subpopulation during HIV-associated pain pathogenesis in mouse models . Nature Communication, 12 December 2025. PMID: 41387458. Journal Impact factor 15.7

Zachary T Watson, Silvana Valdebenito-Silva, Michael Spurgat , Wenjuan Ru, Junying Zheng, Mark K Maurelli , Yuejin Liang, Subo Yuan, Eliseo Eugenin, Shao-Jun Tang. Differential selectivity of microglia and astrocytes in HIV-1 gp120-induced synaptic pruning. Brain. 2025 Nov 14. PMID: 41234167, Journal Impact factor 11.7

Melissa Henwood, Junkui Shan, Qiang Li, John Moth, John Henwood, Yang Yi, Dustin Green, Ajay Pal, Joseph Sandoval Wei Li, Tiffany Dunn, Alfredo Sandoval, Jiewen Zhang, Subo Yuan and Bo ChenSensory Deficits in mice with Thoracic Lateral Spinal Cord Hemisection Mimic the Brown-Sequard Syndrome, Journal of Neuroscience, 16 September 2025; PMID: 40957681, Journal impact factor: 3.9

Aditya K. Singh, Matteo Bernabucci, ……Subo Yuan, Fernanda LaezzaSensory neuron-expressed FGF13 controls nociceptive signaling in diabetic neuropathy models. J Clin Invest. 2025 Jul 15;135(14): e183749. PMID: 40662354, Journal impact factor: 13.6

Bei, Jiani; Miranda-Morales, Ernesto G; Gan, Qini; Qiu, Yuan; Husseinzadeh, Sorosh; Liew, Jia Yi; Chang, Qing; Krishnan, Balaji; Gaitas, Angelo; Yuan, Subo; Felicella, Michelle; Qiu, Wei Qiao; Fang, Xiang; Gong, Bin Circulating Exosomes from Alzheimer's Disease Suppress Vascular Endothelial-Cadherin Expression and Induce Barrier Dysfunction in Recipient Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cell, J Alzheimers Dis. 2023;95(3):869-885. Journal impact factor:4.16

Subo Yuan1,2#, Jia Yi Liew1, Jiani Bei3, Ajay Pal1, …… Tais B. Saito4, Kamil Khanipov5, , Bin Gong2,3 .Circulating extracellular vesicles from HIV-1 gp120-treated mice act as endogenous algogens, mediating and maintaining HIV-associated chronic pain. Manuscript ID: PAIN-D-25-00565 in revising.

Subo Yuan1,2, .#, , Jia Yi Liew1, Ajay Pal1, Jigong Wang1, Dustin P. Green1, Massoud Motamedi3, Shao-Jun Tang1, 4, 5,  Development of noninvasive imaging to measure spontaneous pain in mice. in revising in J of PAIN-D-25-00602.

Shi Y, Yuan S, Tang SJ. Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are Critical for Morphine Exacerbation of HIV-1 gp120-Induced Pain. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2021 Sep;16(3):581-591. 2020 Aug 22. PMID: 32827051, Journal impact factor:5.1.

Shi Y, Yuan S, Tang SJ. Morphine and HIV-1 gp120 cooperatively promote pathogenesis in the spinal pain neural circuit. Mol Pain. 2019, Aug 1;15. PMID: 31368399, Journal impact factor: 3.2

Yuan S, Shi Y, Guo K, Tang SJ. Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs) Induce Pathological Pain through Wnt5a-Mediated Neuroinflammation in Aging Mice. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2018 Jun;13(2):230-236. PMID: 29429030, impact factor: 5.1

Shi Y, Shu J, Liang Z, Yuan S, Tang SJ. (2016). EXPRESS: Oligodendrocytes in HIV-associated pain pathogenesis. Mol Pain. 2016 Jun 15; Print 2016. PMID: 27306410, impact factor: 3.7

 Yuan SB, Ji G, Li B, Andersson T, Neugebauer V, Tang SJ. (2015). A Wnt5a signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of HIV-1 gp120-induced pain. Pain. 2015 Jul;156(7):1311-1319. PMID: 25840108, impact factor: 7.9

Yuan SB, Shi Y, Chen J, Zhou X, Li G, Gelman BB, Lisinicchia JG, Carlton SM, Ferguson MR, Tan A, Sarna SK, Tang SJ. (2014) Gp120 in the pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus-associated pain. Ann Neurol. 2014 Jun;75(6):837-50. PMID: 24633867, impact factor: 11.9 

Yuan S, Shi Y, Tang SJ. (2012).  Wnt signaling in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis-associated chronic pain. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2012 Dec;7(4):904-13. Epub 2012 May 2. PMID: 22547300, impact factor: 5.1

Shi Y, Yuan S, Li B, Wang J, Carlton SM, Chung K, Chung JM, Tang SJ. (2012).  Regulation of Wnt signaling by nociceptive input in animal models. Mol Pain. 2012 Jun 19;8:47. PMID: 22713358, impact factor: 3.7