Publications by authors named "Winnie Wen"

Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the psychoactive constituent of cannabis. It is cleared predominantly via metabolism. Metabolism to 11-OH-THC by cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C9 has been proposed as the main clearance pathway of THC, with the estimated fraction metabolized (f) about 70%.

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Weakly basic small molecule drugs like clofazimine can be used as building blocks for endowing cells with unnatural structural and functional elements. Here, we describe how clofazimine represents a first-in-class mechanopharmaceutical device, serving to construct inert, inactive and stimulus responsive drug depots within the endophagolysosomal compartment of cells of living organisms. Upon oral administration, clofazimine molecules self-assemble into stable, membrane-bound, crystal-like drug inclusions (CLDI) that accumulate within macrophages to form a "smart" biocompatible, pathogen activatable mechanopharmaceutical device.

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Diverse biological systems utilize fluctuations ("noise") in gene expression to drive lineage-commitment decisions. However, once a commitment is made, noise becomes detrimental to reliable function, and the mechanisms enabling post-commitment noise suppression are unclear. Here, we find that architectural constraints on noise suppression are overcome to stabilize fate commitment.

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