Wilson Liao, MD

Associate Professor
Department of Dermatology
Primary Thematic Area
Human Genetics
Secondary Thematic Area
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Research Summary
Integrated Genomic and Environmental Analysis of Inflammatory Skin Disease
[email protected]
[email protected]

Background: Psoriasis is a common cutaneous and systemic inflammatory disease that represents a fascinating intersection between genetics, immunology, microbiology, and metabolism. Over forty genetic loci contributing to psoriasis susceptibility have been identified. The affected genes result in abnormal responses of both the innate and adaptive immune system, influencing diverse cell types such as keratinocytes, T cells, dendritic cells, NK cells, and macrophages. Psoriasis may be triggered by a number of bacterial and viral infections and it is likely that psoriasis is influenced by microbiota residing on the skin and in the gut. Patients with psoriasis have systemic inflammation leading to increased risk of heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and other autoimmune diseases. Due to the accessibility of skin for sampling, psoriasis represents an attractive model system to study multiple facets of human biology.  The Liao laboratory utilizes a translational approach in which patient data and biosamples from the clinic are directly studied in the laboratory.

Major goals: (i) Understand the genetic and environmental determinants of psoriasis; (ii) Identify biomarkers to predict psoriasis prognosis and therapeutic response

Ongoing projects:

  1. Identification of novel psoriasis genes. We use genome-wide association data, exome and whole genome sequencing data, and functional mapping methods to identify both common and rare susceptibility variants in psoriasis.
  2. Analysis of whole transcriptome expression networks. Using RNA-seq data of both whole skin and skin cell subtypes, we construct gene expression modules to describe networks of coding genes, non-coding genes, and human genome repetitive elements.
  3. Role of diet and microbiome. We combine epidemiologic surveys of diet with microbial profiling of the skin and gut in psoriasis to explore the role of these factors in modulating psoriasis severity, systemic inflammation, and associated co-morbidities.
  4. Autoimmune disease and HIV-1 control. Our lab has identified a link between the genetic determinants of autoimmune disease (psoriasis, Crohn’s) and immunologic control of HIV-1 replication. Evolutionarily, beneficial adaptation leading to heightened immune responses against retroviruses may have detrimentally increased risk of autoimmune disease. We are exploring how the genetic and immunologic features of psoriasis relate to an antiviral state.
Websites
Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics (PSPG)
UCSF Dermatology Profile
UCSF Institute for Human Genetics
UCSF Profile

Publications

Defining On-Treatment Remission in Plaque Psoriasis: A Consensus Statement From the National Psoriasis Foundation.

JAMA dermatology

Armstrong AW, Gondo GC, Merola JF, Roberts AM, Pérez-Chada LM, Balak DMW, Eakin GS, Read C, Le ST, Gutierrez Y, Bhutani T, Blauvelt A, Duffin KC, Fakharzadeh S, Feldman SR, Gelfand JM, Gladman DD, Glick B, Green LJ, Han G, Hawkes JE, Hwang ST, Johnsen N, Kalb RE, Kircik L, Langley RG, Lebwohl MG, Lewitt GM, Maverakis E, Prussick R, Reddy SM, Rosen CF, Scher JU, Siegel EL, Wallace EB, Weinberg JM, Yamauchi PS, Yosipovitch G, Liao W, Remission Workgroup of the National Psoriasis Foundation

GWAS meta-analysis of psoriasis identifies new susceptibility alleles impacting disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets.

Nature communications

Dand N, Stuart PE, Bowes J, Ellinghaus D, Nititham J, Saklatvala JR, Teder-Laving M, Thomas LF, Traks T, Uebe S, Assmann G, Baudry D, Behrens F, Billi AC, Brown MA, Burkhardt H, Capon F, Chung R, Curtis CJ, Duckworth M, Ellinghaus E, FitzGerald O, Gerdes S, Griffiths CEM, Gulliver S, Helliwell PS, Ho P, Hoffmann P, Holmen OL, Huang ZM, Hveem K, Jadon D, Köhm M, Kraus C, Lamacchia C, Lee SH, Ma F, Mahil SK, McHugh N, McManus R, Modalsli EH, Nissen MJ, Nöthen M, Oji V, Oksenberg JR, Patrick MT, Perez White BE, Ramming A, Rech J, Rosen C, Sarkar MK, Schett G, Schmidt B, Tejasvi T, Traupe H, Voorhees JJ, Wacker EM, Warren RB, Wasikowski R, Weidinger S, Wen X, Zhang Z, BSTOP study group, Estonian Biobank research team, Barton A, Chandran V, Esko T, Foerster J, Franke A, Gladman DD, Gudjonsson JE, Gulliver W, Hüffmeier U, Kingo K, Kõks S, Liao W, Løset M, Mägi R, Nair RP, Rahman P, Reis A, Smith CH, Di Meglio P, Barker JN, Tsoi LC, Simpson MA, Elder JT

Vaccination recommendations for adults receiving biologics and oral therapies for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: Delphi consensus from the medical board of the National Psoriasis Foundation.

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology

Chat VS, Ellebrecht CT, Kingston P, Gondo G, Bell S, Cordoro KM, Desai SR, Duffin KC, Feldman SR, Garg A, Gelfand JM, Gladman D, Green LJ, Gudjonsson J, Han G, Hawkes JE, Kircik L, Koo J, Langley R, Lebwohl M, Michael Lewitt G, Liao W, Martin G, Orbai AM, Reddy SM, Richardson V, Ritchlin CT, Schwartzman S, Siegel EL, Van Voorhees AS, Wallace EB, Weinberg JM, Winthrop KL, Yamauchi P, Armstrong AW

GWAS meta-analysis of psoriasis identifies new susceptibility alleles impacting disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences

Dand N, Stuart PE, Bowes J, Ellinghaus D, Nititham J, Saklatvala JR, Teder-Laving M, Thomas LF, Traks T, Uebe S, Assmann G, Baudry D, Behrens F, Billi AC, Brown MA, Burkhardt H, Capon F, Chung R, Curtis CJ, Duckworth M, Ellinghaus E, FitzGerald O, Gerdes S, Griffiths CEM, Gulliver S, Helliwell P, Ho P, Hoffmann P, Holmen OL, Huang ZM, Hveem K, Jadon D, Köhm M, Kraus C, Lamacchia C, Lee SH, Ma F, Mahil SK, McHugh N, McManus R, Modalsli EH, Nissen MJ, Nöthen M, Oji V, Oksenberg JR, Patrick MT, Perez-White BE, Ramming A, Rech J, Rosen C, Sarkar MK, Schett G, Schmidt B, Tejasvi T, Traupe H, Voorhees JJ, Wacker EM, Warren RB, Wasikowski R, Weidinger S, Wen X, Zhang Z, BSTOP study group, Estonian Biobank research team, Barton A, Chandran V, Esko T, Foerster J, Franke A, Gladman DD, Gudjonsson JE, Gulliver W, Hüffmeier U, Kingo K, Kõks S, Liao W, Løset M, Mägi R, Nair RP, Rahman P, Reis A, Smith CH, Di Meglio P, Barker JN, Tsoi LC, Simpson MA, Elder JT

Layilin Anchors Regulatory T Cells in Skin.

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)

Mehta P, Gouirand V, Boda DP, Zhang J, Gearty SV, Zirak B, Lowe MM, Clancy S, Boothby I, Mahuron KM, Fries A, Krummel MF, Mankoo P, Chang HW, Liu J, Moreau JM, Scharschmidt TC, Daud A, Kim E, Neuhaus IM, Harris HW, Liao W, Rosenblum MD

Current Dermatology Reports

Enteropathy in Psoriasis: A Systematic Review of Gastrointestinal Disease Epidemiology and Subclinical Inflammatory and Functional Gut Alterations

Isabelle M. Sanchez, Wei Jiang, Eric J. Yang, Rasnik K. Singh, Kristen Beck, Claire Liu, Ladan Afifi, Wilson Liao.

Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies multiple novel associations and ethnic heterogeneity of psoriasis susceptibility.

Nature communications

Yin X, Low HQ, Wang L, Li Y, Ellinghaus E, Han J, Estivill X, Sun L, Zuo X, Shen C, Zhu C, Zhang A, Sanchez F, Padyukov L, Catanese JJ, Krueger GG, Duffin KC, Mucha S, Weichenthal M, Weidinger S, Lieb W, Foo JN, Li Y, Sim K, Liany H, Irwan I, Teo Y, Theng CT, Gupta R, Bowcock A, De Jager PL, Qureshi AA, de Bakker PI, Seielstad M, Liao W, Ståhle M, Franke A, Zhang X, Liu J

Antiviral gene expression in psoriasis.

Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV

Raposo RA, Gupta R, Abdel-Mohsen M, Dimon M, Debbaneh M, Jiang W, York VA, Leadabrand KS, Brown G, Malakouti M, Arron S, Kuebler PJ, Wu JJ, Pillai SK, Nixon DF, Liao W

Memory regulatory T cells reside in human skin.

The Journal of clinical investigation

Sanchez Rodriguez R, Pauli ML, Neuhaus IM, Yu SS, Arron ST, Harris HW, Yang SH, Anthony BA, Sverdrup FM, Krow-Lucal E, MacKenzie TC, Johnson DS, Meyer EH, Löhr A, Hsu A, Koo J, Liao W, Gupta R, Debbaneh MG, Butler D, Huynh M, Levin EC, Leon A, Hoffman WY, McGrath MH, Alvarado MD, Ludwig CH, Truong HA, Maurano MM, Gratz IK, Abbas AK, Rosenblum MD

Influence of HLA-C expression level on HIV control.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

Apps R, Qi Y, Carlson JM, Chen H, Gao X, Thomas R, Yuki Y, Del Prete GQ, Goulder P, Brumme ZL, Brumme CJ, John M, Mallal S, Nelson G, Bosch R, Heckerman D, Stein JL, Soderberg KA, Moody MA, Denny TN, Zeng X, Fang J, Moffett A, Lifson JD, Goedert JJ, Buchbinder S, Kirk GD, Fellay J, McLaren P, Deeks SG, Pereyra F, Walker B, Michael NL, Weintrob A, Wolinsky S, Liao W, Carrington M

Loss-of-function mutations in Notch receptors in cutaneous and lung squamous cell carcinoma.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Wang NJ, Sanborn Z, Arnett KL, Bayston LJ, Liao W, Proby CM, Leigh IM, Collisson EA, Gordon PB, Jakkula L, Pennypacker S, Zou Y, Sharma M, North JP, Vemula SS, Mauro TM, Neuhaus IM, Leboit PE, Hur JS, Park K, Huh N, Kwok PY, Arron ST, Massion PP, Bale AE, Haussler D, Cleaver JE, Gray JW, Spellman PT, South AP, Aster JC, Blacklow SC, Cho RJ

Temporal dissection of tumorigenesis in primary cancers.

Cancer discovery

Durinck S, Ho C, Wang NJ, Liao W, Jakkula LR, Collisson EA, Pons J, Chan SW, Lam ET, Chu C, Park K, Hong SW, Hur JS, Huh N, Neuhaus IM, Yu SS, Grekin RC, Mauro TM, Cleaver JE, Kwok PY, LeBoit PE, Getz G, Cibulskis K, Aster JC, Huang H, Purdom E, Li J, Bolund L, Arron ST, Gray JW, Spellman PT, Cho RJ

Meta-analysis confirms the LCE3C_LCE3B deletion as a risk factor for psoriasis in several ethnic groups and finds interaction with HLA-Cw6.

The Journal of investigative dermatology

Riveira-Munoz E, He SM, Escaramís G, Stuart PE, Hüffmeier U, Lee C, Kirby B, Oka A, Giardina E, Liao W, Bergboer J, Kainu K, de Cid R, Munkhbat B, Zeeuwen PL, Armour JA, Poon A, Mabuchi T, Ozawa A, Zawirska A, Burden AD, Barker JN, Capon F, Traupe H, Sun LD, Cui Y, Yin XY, Chen G, Lim HW, Nair RP, Voorhees JJ, Tejasvi T, Pujol R, Munkhtuvshin N, Fischer J, Kere J, Schalkwijk J, Bowcock A, Kwok PY, Novelli G, Inoko H, Ryan AW, Trembath RC, Reis A, Zhang XJ, Elder JT, Estivill X

Genome-wide scan reveals association of psoriasis with IL-23 and NF-kappaB pathways.

Nature genetics

Nair RP, Duffin KC, Helms C, Ding J, Stuart PE, Goldgar D, Gudjonsson JE, Li Y, Tejasvi T, Feng BJ, Ruether A, Schreiber S, Weichenthal M, Gladman D, Rahman P, Schrodi SJ, Prahalad S, Guthery SL, Fischer J, Liao W, Kwok PY, Menter A, Lathrop GM, Wise CA, Begovich AB, Voorhees JJ, Elder JT, Krueger GG, Bowcock AM, Abecasis GR