Publications by authors named "Wei-hua Huang"

Article Synopsis
  • Ginsenoside compound K (GCK) has a significant hypoglycemic effect related to gut microbiota, but its precise mechanisms, especially in high-fat-diet-induced type 2 diabetes (T2D), are not well understood.
  • The study involved creating a diabetic mouse model and conducting fecal microbiota transplantation to explore GCK's role in regulating blood sugar levels.
  • Results indicated that GCK improved metabolic disorders and changed gut microbiota, leading to increased levels of N-acetylserotonin (NAS) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), thereby enhancing insulin sensitivity in the diabetic mice.
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This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of the application of online multi-internal standard calibration (M.ISC) in determining iodine concentrations through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Notably, M.

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Exosome-based drug delivery holds significant promise for cancer chemotherapy. However, current methods for loading drugs into exosomes are inefficient and cost-prohibitive for practical application. In this study, boron clusters are mixed with doxorubicin (DOX) and exosomes, enabling the efficient encapsulation of DOX into exosomes through a superchaotropic effect.

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Recent studies have revealed that intratumoral microbiota is implicated in pancreatic cancer (PC), yet the spectra of intratumoral microbiota and their relationship with PC in Chinese patients remained to be clarified. In this study, tumor and paired paracancerous tissue from 53 patients were profiled by bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Both and -diversity displayed significant differences between tumors and adjacent tissues, with higher diversity in tumors.

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Objective: To evaluate clinical effect of transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimlation (TEAS) on perioperative immune function and postoperative recovery in patients with total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Methods: From November 2021 to July 2022, 80 patients with unilateral TKA were selected and divided into TEAS group and sham TEAS group according to different treatment methods. There were 40 patients in TEAS group, including 9 males and 31 females;aged from 61 to 79 years old with an average of (66.

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Real-time monitoring of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) in skeletal muscle provides crucial insights into the cause-and-effect relationships between physical activity and health benefits. However, the dynamic production of exercise-induced RONS remains poorly explored, due to the lack of sensing tools that can conform to soft skeletal muscle while monitor RONS release during exercise. Here we introduce dual flexible sensors via twisting carbon nanotubes into helical bundles of fibers and subsequent assembling electrochemical sensing components.

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Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) in macrophages have a potent killing effect on pathogens that infect the host. Here, we achieved , quantitative detection of the homeostasis of four primary ROS/RNS (ONOO, HO, NO, and NO) and their precursors (O˙, NO) in phagolysosomes of single RAW 264.7 macrophages after phagocytosis of with platinum-black nanoelectrodes.

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Intracellular pH (pHi) is an essential indicator of cellular metabolic activity, as its transient or small shift can significantly impact cellular homeostasis and reflect the cellular events. Real-time and precise tracking of these rapid pH changes within a single living cell is therefore important. However, achieving high dynamic response performance (subsecond) pH detection inside a living cell with high accuracy remains a challenge.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hydrogen peroxide (HO) release in blood flow is crucial for vascular health, and it is triggered by mechanical stress on endothelial cells.* -
  • The study introduces a novel stretchable electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor made from gold nanostructures that specifically detects HO levels, overcoming interference from cell secretions.* -
  • By using human umbilical vein endothelial cells, the sensor can monitor HO release in real time during stretching, showcasing its potential for biomedical applications and health monitoring.*
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Article Synopsis
  • Bile acids (BAs) significantly affect gut bacteria composition and function, but studying this relationship has been challenging.
  • The research involved testing 21 different BAs on 65 gut bacterial strains to assess their growth effects, both in a lab setting (in vitro) and in living organisms (in vivo).
  • Results showed that specific BAs uniquely influenced various intestinal strains, notably through the accumulation of deoxycholic acid (DCA), which affected bacterial growth by altering ribosome activity and amino acid metabolism.
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Hydrogen peroxide (HO) levels play a vital role in redox regulation and maintaining the physiological balance of living cells, especially in cell mechanotransduction. Despite the achievements on strain-induced cellular HO monitoring, the applied voltage for HO electrooxidation possibly gave rise to an abnormal expression and inadequate accuracy, which was still an inescapable concern. Hence, we decorated an interlaced CuO@TiO nanowires (NWs) semiconductor meshwork onto a polydimethylsiloxane film-supported gold nanotubes substrate (Au NTs/PDMS) to construct a flexible photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing platform.

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Ginsenoside Compound K (GCK) is the main metabolite of natural protopanaxadiol ginsenosides with diverse pharmacological effects. Gut microbiota contributes to the biotransformation of GCK, while the effect of gut microbiota on the pharmacokinetics of GCK in vivo remains unclear. To illustrate the role of gut microbiota in GCK metabolism in vivo, a systematic investigation of the pharmacokinetics of GCK in specific pathogen free (SPF) and pseudo-germ-free (pseudo-GF) rats were conducted.

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Single cell amperometry has proven to be a powerful and well-established method for characterizing single vesicular exocytotic events elicited at the level of excitable cells under various experimental conditions. Nevertheless, most of the reported characteristics are descriptive, being mostly concerned with the morphological characteristics of the recorded current spikes (maximum current intensities, released charge, rise and fall times, ) which are certainly important but do not provide sufficient kinetic information on exocytotic mechanisms due to lack of quantitative models. Here, continuing our previous efforts to provide rigorous models rationalizing the kinetic structures of frequently encountered spike types (spikes with unique exponential decay tails and kiss-and-run events), we describe a new theoretical approach enabling a quantitative kinetic modeling of all types of exocytotic events giving rise to current spikes exhibiting exponential decay tails.

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Traditional methods for the detection of pathogenic bacteria are time-consuming, less efficient, and sensitive, which affects infection control and bungles illness. Therefore, developing a method to remedy these problems is very important in the clinic to diagnose the pathogenic diseases and guide the rational use of antibiotics. Here, microfluidic electrochemical integrated sensor (MEIS) has been investigated, functionally for rapid, efficient separation and sensitive detection of pathogenic bacteria.

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Article Synopsis
  • Mechanotransduction is the process where cells convert mechanical forces into biochemical signals, and a new electrochemical sensor offers real-time, quantitative data on these signals, which have previously been challenging to monitor.
  • The study introduces a method using a ferromagnetic micropipette to apply local stretching to a single cell, allowing researchers to track biochemical responses directly within the cell.
  • The researchers focused on measuring hydrogen peroxide production in endothelial cells in response to various stretching conditions, demonstrating a novel approach to studying mechanotransduction at the single-cell level.
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The intercellular communication of mechanotransduction has a significant impact on various cellular processes. Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) have been documented to possess the capability of transmitting mechanical stimulation between cells, thereby triggering an influx of Ca ions. However, the related kinetic information on the TNT-mediated intercellular mechanotransduction communication is still poorly explored.

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Synaptic plasticity is the ability of synapses to modulate synaptic strength in response to dynamic changes within, as well as environmental changes. Although there is a considerable body of knowledge on protein expression and receptor migration in different categories of synaptic plasticity, the contribution and impact of presynaptic vesicle release and neurotransmitter levels towards plasticity remain largely unclear. Herein, nanoelectrochemistry using carbon fiber nanoelectrodes with excellent spatio-temporal resolution was applied for real-time monitoring of presynaptic vesicle release of dopamine inside single synapses of dopaminergic neurons, and exocytotic variations in quantity and kinetics under repetitive electrical stimuli.

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ATP plays a crucial role in cell energy supply, so the quantification of intracellular ATP levels is particularly important for understanding many physio-pathological processes. The intracellular quantification of this non-electroactive molecule can be realized using aptamer-modified nanoelectrodes, but is hindered by the limited quantity of modification and electroactive tags on the nanosized electrodes. Herein, we developed a simple but effective electrochemical signal amplification strategy for intracellular ATP detection, which replaces the regular ATP aptamer-linked ferrocene monomer with a polymer, thus greatly magnifying the amounts of electrochemical reporters linked to one chain of the aptamer and enhancing the signals.

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Exocytosis involving the fusion of intracellular vesicles with cell membrane, is thought to be modulated by the mechanical cues in the microenvironment. Single-cell electrochemistry can offer unique information about the quantification and kinetics of exocytotic events; however, the effects of mechanical force on vesicular release have been poorly explored. Herein, we developed a stretchable microelectrode with excellent electrochemical stability under mechanical deformation by microfabrication of functionalized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) conductive ink, which achieved real-time quantitation of strain-induced vesicular exocytosis from a single cell for the first time.

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Airborne nanoplastics can enter alveolar cells and trigger intracellular oxidative stress primarily. Herein, taking advantage of the high electrochemical resolution of SiC@Pt nanoelectrodes, we achieved the quantitative discrimination of the major ROS/RNS within A549 cells, disclosed the sources of their precursors, and observed that the NO (RNS precursor) level significantly increased, whereas O˙ (ROS precursor) remained relatively stable during the nanoplastics exposure. This establishes that iNOS or mitochondrion-targeted treatment may be a preventive or therapeutic strategy for nanoplastic-induced lung injury.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A new biomimetic platform was developed that mimics the stretching of lung alveoli and allows for real-time monitoring of oxidative stress in response to nanoplastics.
  • * The study found that cyclic stretching of alveoli epithelial cells enhances the uptake of nanoplastics, and this oxidative stress can be quantitatively monitored, improving understanding of the effects of inhaled nanoplastics in the lungs.
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Exposure to widely used inert fibrous nanomaterials (for example, glass fibres or carbon nanotubes) may result in asbestos-like lung pathologies, becoming an important environmental and health concern. However, the origin of the pathogenesis of such fibres has not yet been clearly established. Here we report an electrochemical nanosensor that is used to monitor and quantitatively characterize the flux and dynamics of reactive species release during the frustrated phagocytosis of glass nanofibres by single macrophages.

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The glutathione (GSH) system is one of the most powerful intracellular antioxidant systems for the elimination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and maintaining cellular redox homeostasis. However, the rapid kinetics information (at the millisecond to the second level) during the dynamic antioxidation process of the GSH system remains unclear. As such, we specifically developed a novel dual-wire nanosensor (DWNS) that can selectively and synchronously measure the levels of GSH and ROS with high temporal resolution, and applied it to monitor the transient ROS generation as well as the rapid antioxidation process of the GSH system in individual cancer cells.

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Ginsenosides in Panax ginseng are regarded to be functional ingredients for diverse pharmacological effects and orally administrated with very low absorption in the gastrointestinal tract to be metabolized by gut microbiota. However, in vivo metabolic characteristics of ginsenosides mediated by gut microbiota are not well-known. This study aimed to explore the metabolic profiles of ginsenosides in rat feces mediated by gut microbiota.

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Nanochannel technology has emerged as a powerful tool for label-free and highly sensitive detection of protein folding/unfolding status. However, utilizing the inner walls of a nanochannel array may cause multiple events even for proteins with the same conformation, posing challenges for accurate identification. Herein, we present a platform to detect unfolded proteins through electrical and optical signals using nanochannel arrays with outer-surface probes.

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