Rao Xiong

About

Rao Xiong is a faculty member at the College of Education, specializing as a Data Scientist III. He is associated with the Academic Units of Disability & Psychoeducational Studies, Educational Policy Studies & Practice, Educational Psychology, and Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies. His contact information includes an email address (raoxiong@arizona.edu) and a physical location at 1430 E. Second Street, Tucson, Arizona. The university recognizes his role within the broader context of the college's mission to advance education, research, and community engagement.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Cancer research
• Biology
• Medicine
• Internal medicine

Selected publications

• Design of SARS-CoV-2 PLpro Inhibitors for COVID-19 Antiviral Therapy Leveraging Binding Cooperativity

  Journal of Medicinal Chemistry · 2021-10-19 · 211 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Antiviral agents that complement vaccination are urgently needed to end the COVID-19 pandemic. The SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro), one of only two essential cysteine proteases that regulate viral replication, also dysregulates host immune sensing by binding and deubiquitination of host protein substrates. PLpro is a promising therapeutic target, albeit challenging owing to featureless P1 and P2 sites recognizing glycine. To overcome this challenge, we leveraged the cooperativity of mult…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Invited review: human air-liquid-interface organotypic airway tissue models derived from primary tracheobronchial epithelial cells—overview and perspectives

  In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Animal · 2020-11-11 · 146 citations

  reviewOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Mechanism of Allosteric Modulation of Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase to Elevate Cellular NAD⁺

  Biochemistry · 2023-02-06 · 18 citations

  articleOpen access

  In aging and disease, cellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is depleted by catabolism to nicotinamide (NAM). NAD+ supplementation is being pursued to enhance human healthspan and lifespan. Activation of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), the rate-limiting step in NAD+ biosynthesis, has the potential to increase the salvage of NAM. Novel NAMPT-positive allosteric modulators (N-PAMs) were discovered in addition to the demonstration of NAMPT activation by biogenic phenols.…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Synthesis, Optimization, and Structure–Activity Relationships of Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) Positive Allosteric Modulators (N-PAMs)

  Journal of Medicinal Chemistry · 2023-12-14 · 16 citations

  articleOpen access

  Depletion of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is associated with aging and disease, spurring the study of dietary supplements to replenish NAD+. The catabolism of NAD+ to nicotinamide (NAM) requires the salvage of NAM to replenish cellular NAD+, which relies on the rate-limiting enzyme nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT). Pharmacological activation of NAMPT provides an alternative to dietary supplements. Screening for activators of NAMPT identified small molecule NAMPT positiv…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Non-Covalent Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Papain-Like Protease (PLpro): In Vitro and In Vivo Antiviral Activity

  Journal of Medicinal Chemistry · 2024-08-05 · 15 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  The SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro), essential for viral processing and immune response disruption, is a promising target for treating acute infection of SARS-CoV-2. To date, there have been no reports of PLpro inhibitors with both submicromolar potency and animal model efficacy. To address the challenge of PLpro’s featureless active site, a noncovalent inhibitor library with over 50 new analogs was developed, targeting the PLpro active site by modulating the BL2-loop and engaging the BL…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Gregory R. J. Thatcher

  University of Arizona

  60 shared

• Debra A. Tonetti

  University of Illinois Chicago

  40 shared

• Jiong Zhao

  University of Illinois Chicago

  31 shared

• Lauren M. Gutgesell

  10X Genomics (United States)

  23 shared

• Xuefei Cao

  National Center for Toxicological Research

  18 shared

• Zhengnan Shen

  University of Arizona

  17 shared

• Huiping Zhao

  Peking University People's Hospital

  17 shared

• Kiira Ratia

  16 shared

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