# Wenqing Xu
**Wenqing Xu** is a structural biologist who studies cell signaling, above all the Wnt pathway, by determining the three-dimensional structures of signaling proteins and their complexes. He has been a tenured professor at ShanghaiTech University's School of Life Science and Technology since August 2019, and is known for crystal structures including the β-catenin/Tcf complex (Cell, 2000) and a membrane-bound O-acyltransferase ([Nature](https://www.edgepedia.org/nature-journal), 2018).[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2884-3101) • [2](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq_en/main.htm)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Field | Structural biology of cell signaling: Wnt signaling, stem cell biology, regenerative medicine, protein design[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2884-3101) |
| Training | B.S. University of Science and Technology of China (1980–1985); M.S. Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (1988); Ph.D. MIT (1995); Harvard Medical School postdoctoral fellow (1995–1999)[2](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq_en/main.htm) • [1](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2884-3101) |
| Other roles | Director, National Facility for Protein Science in Shanghai, January 2019–October 2023; Affiliate Professor, University of Washington, since 2019[3](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq/main.htm) • [1](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2884-3101) |
| Signature work | Crystal structure of the β-catenin/Tcf3 complex, Cell, 2000[4](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11136974/) |
| Honor | Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator's Award in the pathogenesis of infectious disease, 2003[5](https://people.equilar.com/bio/person/wenqing-xu-tyk-medicines-inc/69143508) |
| Methods | X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy with biochemical studies[2](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq_en/main.htm) |
## Training and career
(The Chinese-language version of his faculty CV gives the postdoc as 1995–1998; the English CV gives 1995–1999.)[3](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq/main.htm)
In August 2019 he moved to ShanghaiTech University as a tenured full professor in the School of Life Science and Technology, while remaining an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington.[2](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq_en/main.htm) • [1](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2884-3101) From January 2019 to October 2023 he also directed the National Facility for Protein Science in Shanghai.[3](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq/main.htm)
## Research
His laboratory uses [X-ray crystallography](https://www.edgepedia.org/x-ray-crystallography) and cryo-electron microscopy together with biochemical studies to examine cell signaling, particularly the Wnt pathway, which functions in embryonic development, stem cell homeostasis, and tissue regeneration.[2](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq_en/main.htm) ORCID lists his research areas as signal transduction, protein structure, and regulation.[1](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2884-3101)
An early landmark was the 1995 Cell paper reporting the crystal structure of a paired domain–DNA complex at 2.5 Å resolution, which revealed the structural basis for Pax developmental mutations.[2](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq_en/main.htm) His faculty CV also lists a 1997 Nature paper on the three-dimensional structure of the tyrosine kinase c-Src among his notable papers.[2](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq_en/main.htm)
## Representative work
The 2000 Cell paper Crystal Structure of a β-Catenin/Tcf Complex ([doi:10.1016/s0092-8674(00)00192-6](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0092-8674(00)00192-6)) determined the structure of β-catenin bound to the β-catenin binding domain of Tcf3. The Tcf3 domain forms an elongated structure with three binding modules running antiparallel to β-catenin along the positively charged groove formed by its armadillo repeats (repeated structural motifs forming β-catenin's binding groove). Structure-based mutagenesis defined three sites in β-catenin critical for Tcf3 binding that are differentially involved in binding APC, cadherin, and Axin, and the structural and mutagenesis data reveal a potential target for molecular drug design.[4](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11136974/)
That structure opened a line of work on β-catenin's partners. According to a 2003 study in *Genes & Development*, with Xu as first author from the UW Department of Biological Structure, the structure of β-catenin bound to Axin's binding domain was determined; the Axin helix occupies the groove formed by the third and fourth armadillo repeats, precluding simultaneous binding of other partners, and phosphorylated 20-amino acid repeats of APC compete with Axin for β-catenin binding, suggesting that a key function of APC in the destruction complex is removing phosphorylated β-catenin product from the active site.[6](https://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/17/22/2753.abstract) A Journal of Cell Science review notes that the armadillo-repeat groove serves as a common binding site for several β-catenin partners, with steric hindrance limiting which partners can be bound at a given time.[7](https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.013771)
In 2018 he was a contributor to the Nature paper [Crystal structure](https://www.edgepedia.org/crystal-structure) of a membrane-bound O-acyltransferase, which presented structures of DltB, an MBOAT responsible for D-alanylation of cell-wall teichoic acid in [Gram-positive bacteria](https://www.edgepedia.org/gram-positive-bacteria), alone and in complex with the D-alanyl donor protein DltC. DltB contains a ring of 11 peripheral transmembrane helices shielding a highly conserved extracellular funnel extending into the middle of the lipid bilayer; the conserved catalytic histidine sits at the bottom of the funnel, connected to intracellular DltC through a narrow tunnel. Mutating either the catalytic histidine or the DltC-binding site abolishes D-alanylation of lipoteichoic acid and sensitizes [Bacillus subtilis](https://www.edgepedia.org/bacillus-subtilis) to cell-wall stress, suggesting cross-membrane catalysis through the tunnel, and the structures provide a template for therapeutic MBOAT inhibitors.[8](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30283133) • [1](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2884-3101)
## Recent work
His directorship of the National Facility for Protein Science in Shanghai ended in October 2023.[3](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq/main.htm) Recent lab publications include a PNAS paper from September 2025 on de novo design of protein binders to stabilize monomeric TDP-43, and a 2026 International Journal of Biological Macromolecules paper describing the miniprotein B12, which binds β-catenin's BCL9-interacting domain with nanomolar affinity, disrupts the β-catenin/BCL9 interaction and inhibits Wnt/β-catenin signaling in cellular models of colorectal and hepatocellular carcinomas.[2](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq_en/main.htm) • [9](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0141813026026462)
On May 27, 2026, his team published in Cell the first high-resolution three-dimensional structure of the extracellular Wnt signalosome complex, a question that had resisted resolution for nearly 40 years. After nearly six years of work the team obtained stable Wnt3a/Fzd8/LRP6 ternary complexes and resolved their structure by single-particle cryo-electron microscopy. Disrupting the Wnt3a dimerization interface completely blocks receptor clustering and downstream signaling activation, confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis, signaling assays, and live-cell imaging; the team also mapped the Wnt–LRP6 interface and identified a Wnt3a mutant with enhanced activity, providing a structural foundation for drug design and regenerative medicine tools.[10](https://www.shanghaitech.edu.cn/en/2026/0528/c1260a1123153/page.htm)
## Honors and industry
Xu received the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator's Award in the pathogenesis of infectious disease in 2003.[5](https://people.equilar.com/bio/person/wenqing-xu-tyk-medicines-inc/69143508) The executive-biography database Equilar lists an association with Tyk Medicines Inc.[5](https://people.equilar.com/bio/person/wenqing-xu-tyk-medicines-inc/69143508)
## References
1. [Wenqing Xu (0000-0002-2884-3101) – ORCID](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2884-3101)
2. [Wenqing Xu, PhD Professor – ShanghaiTech University School of Life Science and Technology](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq_en/main.htm)
3. [Wenqing Xu faculty page (Chinese), ShanghaiTech University](https://slst.shanghaitech.edu.cn/xwq/main.htm)
4. [Crystal structure of a beta-catenin/Tcf complex (PubMed, Cell 2000)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11136974/)
5. [Dr. Wenqing Xu – Equilar ExecAtlas](https://people.equilar.com/bio/person/wenqing-xu-tyk-medicines-inc/69143508)
6. [Crystal structure of a β-catenin/Axin complex (Genes & Development, 2003)](https://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/17/22/2753.abstract)
7. [Mechanistic insights from structural studies of β-catenin and its binding partners (Journal of Cell Science)](https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.013771)
8. [Crystal structure of a membrane-bound O-acyltransferase (PubMed, Nature 2018)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30283133)
9. [Disruption of BCL9-β-catenin interaction by de novo designed miniproteins (Int J Biol Macromol, 2026)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0141813026026462)
10. [ShanghaiTech scientists resolve a key structure of the Wnt signaling complex, published in Cell (May 2026)](https://www.shanghaitech.edu.cn/en/2026/0528/c1260a1123153/page.htm)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Life and health scientists › Life scientists › Researchers in structural biology, biochemistry, and biophysics › Signal transduction and receptors*
*Initially written Sep 21, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026; Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license