Alison Xie, PhD

Professional Titles

• Associate Professor

Recognitions

• Faculty Professionalism Award, Department of surgery, School of Medicine, CU-AMC (2024)
• Young Investigator Award, The Society for Basic Urologic Research (SBUR) (2023)
• Early-career Faculty Research Development Award, Ludeman Center for Women's Health Research (2023)

Research Interests

The Xie lab studies how glia and immune cells in the peripheral ganglia regulate ganglionic neuronal activity and hollow organ functions, including the heart and the urinary bladder. Our research demonstrated ganglionic glial cells potently regulate left ventricle and bladder contractions, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and pain/itch sensitivity. Currently, the Xie lab utilizes conventional and state-of-the-art biomedical methods to study the mechanisms underlying satellite glia-neuron interactions in pelvic ganglia and dorsal root ganglia, with a particular focus on how glia-neuron crosstalk can be used to alleviate chronic pelvic pain symptoms and improving lower urinary tract functions.

Publications

• Yesupatham SK, Malykhina AP, Xie AX. Transcriptome Profiling Suggest Molecular Sexual Dimorphism in Lumbosacral Dorsal Root Ganglia and Sex-specific Mechanisms Underlying Visceral Pain. Physiol Genomics. 2025 Nov 12. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 41223072
• Xie AX, Iguchi N, Malykhina AP. Long-term follow-up of TREK-1 KO mice reveals the development of bladder hypertrophy and impaired bladder smooth muscle contractility with age. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2024 Jun 1;326(6):F957-F970. PubMed PMID: 38601986
• Xie AX, Iguchi N, Malykhina AP. Long-term follow-up of TREK-1 KO mice reveals the development of bladder hypertrophy and impaired bladder smooth muscle contractility with age. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2024 Jun 1;326(6):F957-F970. PubMed PMID: 38601986
• Clarkson TC, Iguchi N, Xie AX, Malykhina AP. Differential transcriptomic changes in the central nervous system and urinary bladders of mice infected with a coronavirus. PLoS One. 2022;17(12):e0278918. PubMed PMID: 36490282
• Xie AX, Iguchi N, Clarkson TC, Malykhina AP. Pharmacogenetic inhibition of lumbosacral sensory neurons alleviates visceral hypersensitivity in a mouse model of chronic pelvic pain. PLoS One. 2022;17(1):e0262769. PubMed PMID: 35077502
• Xie AX†*, Taves S†, McCarthy KD. Nuclear factor Kappa B-COX2 pathway activation in non-myelinating Schwann cells is necessary for the maintenance of neuropathic pain in mice. Front Cell Neurosci., 14 January 2022, https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2021.782275.
• Iguchi N, Carrasco A Jr, Xie AX, Pineda RH, Malykhina AP, Wilcox DT. Functional constipation induces bladder overactivity associated with upregulations of Htr2 and Trpv2 pathways. Sci Rep. 2021 Jan 13;11(1):1149. PubMed PMID: 33441874
• Xie AX*, Madayag A, Minton SK, McCarthy KD, Malykhina AP. Sensory satellite glial Gq-GPCR activation alleviates inflammatory pain via peripheral adenosine 1 receptor activation. Sci Rep. 2020 Aug 25;10(1):14181. PubMed PMID: 32843670
• Xie AX†, Pan XQ†, Meacham RB, Malykhina AP. The Expression of Transcription Factors Mecp2 and CREB Is Modulated in Inflammatory Pelvic Pain. Front Syst Neurosci. 2018;12:69. PubMed PMID: 30687029
• Xie AX*, Lee JJ, McCarthy KD. Ganglionic GFAP+ glial Gq-GPCR signaling enhances heart functions in vivo. JCI Insight. 2017 Jan 26;2(2):e90565. PubMed PMID: 28138563
• Xie AX*, Chaia A, McCarthy KD. Targeting sympathetic glia for treating cardiovascular diseases. Receptors &Clinical Investigation 2017; 4: e1572. doi: 10.14800/rci.1572;
• Annis RP, Swahari V, Nakamura A, Xie AX, Hammond SM, Deshmukh M. Mature neurons dynamically restrict apoptosis via redundant premitochondrial brakes. FEBS J. 2016 Dec;283(24):4569-4582. PubMed PMID: 27797453
• Xie AX, Petravicz J, McCarthy KD. Molecular approaches for manipulating astrocytic signaling in vivo. Front Cell Neurosci. 2015;9:144. PubMed PMID: 25941472
• Sun MY, Devaraju P, Xie AX, Holman I, Samones E, Murphy TR, Fiacco TA. Astrocyte calcium microdomains are inhibited by bafilomycin A1 and cannot be replicated by low-level Schaffer collateral stimulation in situ. Cell Calcium. 2014 Jan;55(1):1-16. PubMed PMID: 24262208
• Xie AX, Lauderdale K, Murphy T, Myers TL, Fiacco TA. Inducing plasticity of astrocytic receptors by manipulation of neuronal firing rates. J Vis Exp. 2014 Mar 20;(85). PubMed PMID: 24686723
• Agulhon C, Boyt KM, Xie AX, Friocourt F, Roth BL, McCarthy KD. Modulation of the autonomic nervous system and behaviour by acute glial cell Gq protein-coupled receptor activation in vivo. J Physiol. 2013 Nov 15;591(22):5599-609. PubMed PMID: 24042499
• Xie AX, Sun MY, Murphy T, Lauderdale K, Tiglao E, Fiacco TA. Bidirectional scaling of astrocytic metabotropic glutamate receptor signaling following long-term changes in neuronal firing rates. PLoS One. 2012;7(11):e49637. PubMed PMID: 23166735
• Carson MJ, Crane J, Xie AX. Modeling CNS microglia: the quest to identify predictive models. Drug Discov Today Dis Models. 2008;5(1):19-25. PubMed PMID: 19444332
• Wang H, Xie X, Li X, Chen B, Zhou Y. Functional degradation of visual cortical cells in aged rats. Brain Res. 2006 Nov 29;1122(1):93-8. PubMed PMID: 17010946
• Jia F, Wei H, Li X, Xie X, Zhou Y. Short-term synaptic plasticity in the rat geniculo-cortical pathway during development in vivo. Neurosci Lett. 2006 May 1;398(1-2):73-7. PubMed PMID: 16406670
• Xie X, Wang H, Chen B, Zhou Y. “Neural response characteristic of neuron to flashing stimulus in visual cortex of young rats”. Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics. 2005,32(11):1088-1092
• Jia F, Xie X, Zhou Y. Short-term depression of synaptic transmission from rat lateral geniculate nucleus to primary visual cortex in vivo. Brain Res. 2004 Mar 26;1002(1-2):158-61. PubMed PMID: 14988046

Professional Memberships

• American Urological Association, Member
• Society for Basic Urologic Research, Member
• American Society of Neurochemistry, Member
• Colorado Clinical Translational Science Institute, Faculty member
• Neuroscience Graduate Program, Faculty member
• Medical Scientist Training Program, Faculty member
• Integrated Physiology Program, Faculty member
• American Physiological Society, Member
• South Central Section of the AUA, Faculty member