Weidong Le, MD, PhD

Full Affiliate Member, Research Institute
Houston Methodist

Biography

Dr. Le received his Bachelor’s degree from Suzhou Medical College in 1978, and his doctoral degree from Shanghai 2nd Medical University in 1988. He did postdoctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine starting in 1989. He was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1993, Associate Professor in 2000 and Professor in 2005 at Baylor College of Medicine. He has published over 185 SCI papers in peer review journals and 7 scientific books. He has been awarded 26 research grants including 3 NIH R0-1 awards, grants from Michael Fox Foundation, APDA, PDF and NPA. Recently, he received two grant awards from the Helis Foundation to support Parkinson’s disease research. He is a reviewer committee member of NIH, VA, INSERM, Singapore Academy of Science, and the Chinese Nature Science Foundation. He is an editorial board member of six international journals including Autophagy, Neurodegenerative Disease, and is the Academic Editor of Plos One and J Alzheimer’s Disease.

Description of Research

Dr. Le is a neurologist/neuroscientist with research interest in the cellular and molecular basis of neuronal injury in these neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Le’s research program focuses on defining the molecular mechanisms and pathological pathways of three major neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson’s disease [PD], Alzheimers’s disease, and ALS). Recently he pioneered a linkage study of transcription factors regulating CNS development and neurodegenerative disorders.

Areas Of Expertise

Neurodegenerative diseases ALS Parkinson’s Disease Alzheimer

Education & Training

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Baylor College of Medicine

MS, Shanghai 2nd Medical University

PhD, Shanghai 2nd Medical University

Publications

Phosphorylation and O-GlcNAcylation at the same a-synuclein site generate distinct fibril structures

Hu, J, Xia, W, Zeng, S, Lim, YJ, Tao, Y, Sun, Y, Zhao, L, Wang, H, Le, W, Li, D, Zhang, S, Liu, C & Li, YM 2024, , Nature Communications, vol. 15, no. 1, 2677. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46898-1

Circulating proteomic biomarkers for diagnosing sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a cross-sectional study

He, L, Zhou, Q, Xiu, C, Shao, Y, Shen, D, Meng, H, Le, W & Chen, S 2024, , Neural Regeneration Research, vol. 19, no. 8, pp. 1842-1848. https://doi.org/10.4103/1673-5374.389357

Therapeutic effects of long-term HBOT on Alzheimer's disease neuropathologies and cognitive impairment in APPswe/PS1dE9 mice

Yang, C, Liu, G, Zeng, X, Xiang, Y, Chen, X & Le, W 2024, , Redox Biology, vol. 70, 103006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2023.103006

Association between plasma CTRPs with cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration of Alzheimer's disease

Huang, X, Zhao, J, Wang, Q, Yan, T, Gou, S, Zhu, X, Yang, L, Ye, F, Zhang, J, Wang, Y, Yang, S, Le, W & Xiang, Y 2024, , CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics, vol. 30, no. 2, e14606, pp. e14606. https://doi.org/10.1111/cns.14606

Oxygen metabolism abnormality and Alzheimer's disease: An update

Liu, G, Yang, C, Wang, X, Chen, X, Wang, Y & Le, W 2023, , Redox Biology, vol. 68, 102955, pp. 102955. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2023.102955

A metabolome atlas of mouse brain on the global metabolic signature dynamics following short-term fasting

Shao, Y, Fu, Z, Wang, Y, Yang, Z, Lin, Y, Li, S, Cheng, C, Wei, M, Liu, Z, Xu, G & Le, W 2023, , Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, vol. 8, no. 1, 334. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-023-01552-y

Cell-therapy for Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Wang, F, Sun, Z, Peng, D, Gianchandani, S, Le, W, Boltze, J & Li, S 2023, , Journal of Translational Medicine, vol. 21, no. 1, 601. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-023-04484-x

a-Synuclein reduces acetylserotonin O-methyltransferase mediated melatonin biosynthesis by microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta-related degradation pathway

Jia, C, Tian, L, Cheng, C, Zhang, J, Al-Nusaif, M, Li, T, Yang, H, Lin, Y, Li, S & Le, W 2024, , Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, vol. 81, no. 1, 61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-023-05053-7

The role of Nurr1-miR-30e-5p-NLRP3 axis in inflammation-mediated neurodegeneration: insights from mouse models and patients’ studies in Parkinson’s disease

Li, T, Tan, X, Tian, L, Jia, C, Cheng, C, Chen, X, Wei, M, Wang, Y, Hu, Y, Jia, Q, Ni, Y, Al-Nusaif, M, Li, S & Le, W 2023, , Journal of Neuroinflammation, vol. 20, no. 1, 274, pp. 274. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12974-023-02956-x

Integrative analysis of metabolomics and proteomics unravels purine metabolism dysregulation in the SOD1G93A mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Xu, X, Yang, Q, Liu, Z, Zhang, R, Yu, H, Wang, M, Chen, S, Xu, G, Shao, Y & Le, W 2023, , Neurobiology of Disease, vol. 181, 106110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106110

The Crucial Roles of Pitx3 in Midbrain Dopaminergic Neuron Development and Parkinson’s Disease-Associated Neurodegeneration

Wang, X, Chen, X, Liu, G, Cai, H & Le, W 2023, , International journal of molecular sciences, vol. 24, no. 10, 8614. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24108614

Ticagrelor Resistance in Cardiovascular Disease and Ischemic Stroke

He, S, Lin, Y, Tan, Q, Mao, F, Chen, K, Hao, J, Le, W & Yang, J 2023, , Journal of Clinical Medicine, vol. 12, no. 3, 1149. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12031149

Intrastriatal injection of Parkinson’s disease intestine and vagus lysates initiates a-synucleinopathy in rat brain

Yang, Z, Wang, Y, Wei, M, Li, S, Jia, C, Cheng, C, Al-Nusaif, M, Zhang, J, Liu, C & Le, W 2023, , Cell Death and Disease, vol. 14, no. 1, 4. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-022-05531-z

Nanotherapeutic and Stem Cell Therapeutic Strategies in Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Promising Therapeutic Approach

Wei, M, Yang, Z, Li, S & Le, W 2023, , International Journal of Nanomedicine, vol. 18, pp. 611-626. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S395010

NLRP3 Inflammasome-Mediated Neuroinflammation and Related Mitochondrial Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease

Han, QQ & Le, W 2023, , Neuroscience Bulletin, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 832-844. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12264-023-01023-y

APPswe/PS1?E9 mice exhibit low oxygen saturation and alterations of erythrocytes preceding the neuropathology and cognitive deficiency during Alzheimer's disease

Wang, M, Chen, X, Niu, L, Xu, J, Yu, H, Xu, X, Yang, Q, Xiang, Y & Le, W 2023, , CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics, vol. 29, no. 7, pp. 1889-1897. https://doi.org/10.1111/cns.14147

The neuroprotective effects of oxygen therapy in Alzheimer's disease: a narrative review

Yang, C, Yang, Q, Xiang, Y, Zeng, XR, Xiao, J & Le, WD 2023, , Neural Regeneration Research, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 57-63. https://doi.org/10.4103/1673-5374.343897

Chronic Sleep Disturbances Alters Sleep Structure and Tau Phosphorylation in AßPP/PS1 AD Mice and Their Wild-Type Littermates

Zhang, F, Niu, L, Zhong, R, Li, S & Le, W 2023, , Journal of Alzheimers Disease, vol. 92, no. 4, pp. 1341-1355. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-221048

Linking the cerebellum to Parkinson disease: an update

Li, T, Le, W & Jankovic, J 2023, , Nature Reviews Neurology, vol. 19, no. 11, pp. 645-654. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-023-00874-3

CCL2 promotes metastasis and epithelial–mesenchymal transition of non-small cell lung cancer via PI3K/Akt/mTOR and autophagy pathways

Xu, H, Wang, J, Al-Nusaif, M, Ma, H & Le, W 2023, , Cell Proliferation, vol. 57, no. 3, e13560, pp. e13560. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpr.13560

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