Huaizhu Wu, M.D.

Professor

(713) 798-4141

Email

hwu@bcm.edu

Positions

Professor: Medicine-Athero & Lipo
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX, US

Addresses

506D (Office): One Baylor Plaza, MS BCM285
Houston, TX, 77030
United States
Phone: (713) 798-4141
hwu@bcm.edu

Education

MD from Weifang Medical College: Weifang, China, People's Rep

MS from Peking Union Medical College: Beijing, China, People's Rep

Postdoctoral Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine: Houston, Texas, United States

Professional Interests

Obesity, inflammation and insulin resistance
Lipids, monocytes/macrophages and atherosclerosis
Basic and translational research

Professional Statement

My research focuses on the role of inflammation in the development of atherosclerosis and diabetes associated with dyslipidemia and obesity. Using animal models of disease with ablation of interested molecules in specific tissues/cells, human specimens, cell and molecular biology technology, histology, and flow cytometry, we conduct basic and translational research on effects of hyperlipidemia and obesity on monocyte/macrophage phenotypes and their contributions to atherosclerosis and adipose tissue inflammation associated with diet-induced obesity and its role in obesity-linked diseases including insulin resistance, diabetes and atherosclerosis.

Websites

Bibliography

Selected Publications

Xu L, Perrard XYD, Perrard JL, Yang D, Xiao X, Teng B, Simon SI, Ballantyne CM, Wu H. " Foamy monocytes form early and contribute to nascent atherosclerosis in mice with hypercholesterolemia " Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2015 ; 35 (8) : 1787-1797.
Pubmed PMID: 26112011.
Khan IM, Perrard XYD, Brunner G, Liu H, Sparks LM, Smith SR, Wang K, Shi ZZ, Lewis DE, Wu H, Ballantyne CM. " Intermuscular and perimuscular fat expansion in obesity correlates with skeletal muscle T cell and macrophage infiltration and insulin resistance " Intern J Obesity. 2015 ; Jun 4. doi: 10..
Pubmed PMID: 26041698.
Wu H, Ballantyne CM. " Inflammation versus host defense in obesity " Cell Metab.. 2014 ; 20 : 708-709.
Pubmed PMID: 25440053.
Lim H, Kim YU, Sun H, Lee JH, Reynolds JM, Hanabuchi S, Wu H, Teng BB, Chung Y. " Proatherogenic conditions promote autoimmune T helper 17 cell responses in vivo " Immunity. 2014 ; 40 (1) : 153-65.
Pubmed PMID: 24412615.
Jiang E, Perrard XD, Yang D, Khan IM, Perrard JL, Smith CW, Ballantyne CM, Wu H. " Essential role of CD11a in CD8+ T-cell accumulation and activation in adipose tissue " Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2014 ; 34 (1) : 34-43.
Pubmed PMID: 24158516.
Khan IM, Dai Perrard XY, Perrard JL, Mansoori A, Smith CW, Wu H, Ballantyne CM. " Attenuated adipose tissue and skeletal muscle inflammation in obese mice with combined CD4+ and CD8+ T cell deficiency " Atherosclerosis. 2014 ; 233 (2) : 419-28.
Pubmed PMID: 24530773.
Wang J, Perrard XD, Perrard JL, Mukherjee A, Rosales C, Chen Y, Smith CW, Pownall HJ, Ballantyne CM, Wu H. " ApoE and the role of very low density lipoproteins in adipose tissue inflammation " Atherosclerosis.. 2012 ; 223 (2) : 342-9.
Pubmed PMID: 22770993.
Wang Q, Perrard XD, Perrard JL, Mansoori A, Raya JL, Hoogeveen R, Smith CW, Ballantyne CM, Wu H. " Differential effect of weight loss with low-fat diet or high-fat diet restriction on inflammation in the liver and adipose tissue of mice with diet-induced obesity " Atherosclerosis. 2011 ; 219 (1) : 100-8.
Pubmed PMID: 21824616.
Wu H, Perrard XD, Wang Q, Perrard JL, Polsani VR, Jones PH, Smith CW, Ballantyne CM. " CD11c expression in adipose tissue and blood and its role in diet-induced obesity " Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol.. 2010 ; 30 (2) : 186-92.
Pubmed PMID: 19910635.
Wu H, Gower RM, Wang H, Perrard XY, Ma R, Bullard DC, Burns AR, Paul A, Smith CW, Simon SI, Ballantyne CM. " Functional role of CD11c+ monocytes in atherogenesis associated with hypercholesterolemia " Circulation. 2009 ; 119 (20) : 2708-17.
Pubmed PMID: 19433759.
Wu H, Ghosh S, Perrard XD, Feng L, Garcia GE, Perrard JL, Sweeney JF, Peterson LE, Chan L, Smith CW, Ballantyne CM. " T-cell accumulation and regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted upregulation in adipose tissue in obesity " Circulation. 2007 ; 115 (8) : 1029-38.
Pubmed PMID: 17296858.
Wu H, Ballantyne CM. " Dyslipidaemia: PCSK9 inhibitors and foamy monocytes in familial hypercholesterolaemia " Nat Rev Cardiol. 2017 Jul ; 14 (7) : 385-386.
Pubmed PMID: 28492287.
Wu H, Ballantyne CM. " Skeletal muscle inflammation and insulin resistance in obesity " J Clin Invest. 2017 Jan 3; 127 (1) : 43-54.
Pubmed PMID: 28045398.
Khan IM, Pokharel Y, Dadu RT, Lewis DE, Hoogeveen RC, Wu H, Ballantyne CM. " Postprandial Monocyte Activation in Individuals With Metabolic Syndrome " J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2016 Nov ; 101 (11) : 4195-4204.
Pubmed PMID: 27575945.
Zhou H, Ran Y, Da Q, Shaw TS, Shang D, Reddy AK, López JA, Ballantyne CM, Ware J, Wu H, Peng Y. " Defective Association of the Platelet Glycoprotein Ib-IX Complex with the Glycosphingolipid-Enriched Membrane Domain Inhibits Murine Thrombus and Atheroma Formation " J Immunol. 2016 Jul 1; 197 (1) : 288-295.
Pubmed PMID: 27206768.
Lin L, Lee JH, Buras ED, Yu K, Wang R, Smith CW, Wu H, Sheikh-Hamad D, Sun Y. " Ghrelin receptor regulates adipose tissue inflammation in aging " Aging. 2016 Jan ; 8 (1) : 178-191.
Pubmed PMID: 26837433.
Foster GA, Xu L, Chidambaram AA, Soderberg SR, Armstrong EJ, Wu H, Simon SI. " CD11c/CD18 Signals Very Late Antigen-4 Activation To Initiate Foamy Monocyte Recruitment during the Onset of Hypercholesterolemia " J Immunol.. 2015 Dec 1; 195 (11) : 5380-5392.
Pubmed PMID: 26519532.
Wu H, Ballantyne CM.. " Metabolic Inflammation and Insulin Resistance in Obesity " Circ Res. 2020 May 22; 126 (11) : 1549-1564..
Pubmed PMID: 32437299.
Antony A, Lian Z, Perrard XD, Perrard J, Liu H, Cox AR, Saha P, Hennighausen L, Hartig SM, Ballantyne CM, Wu H.. " Deficiency of Stat1 in CD11c + Cells Alters Adipose Tissue Inflammation and Improves Metabolic Dysfunctions in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet " Diabetes. 2021 ; 70 : 720-732.
Pubmed PMID: 33323395.
Wu H, Xu L, Ballantyne CM.. " Dietary and Pharmacological Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Health. " J Clin Endocrinol Metab.. 2020 ; 105 : 1030-45.
Pubmed PMID: 31678992.
Lian Z, Perrard XD, Peng X, Raya JL, Hernandez AA, Johnson CG, Lagor WR, Pownall HJ, Hoogeveen RC, Simon SI, Sacks FM, Ballantyne CM, Wu H.. " Replacing Saturated Fat With Unsaturated Fat in Western Diet Reduces Foamy Monocytes and Atherosclerosis in Male Ldlr-/- Mice " Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol.. 2020 ; 40 : 72-85.
Pubmed PMID: 31619061.
Wang Q, Wu H.. " T Cells in Adipose Tissue: Critical Players in Immunometabolism. " Front Immunol.. 2018 ; 9 : 2509.
Pubmed PMID: 30459770.
Kalathookunnel Antony A, Lian Z, Wu H.. " T Cells in Adipose Tissue in Aging. " Front Immunol.. 2018 ; 9 : 2945.
Pubmed PMID: 30619305.
Dai Perrard XY, Lian Z, Bobotas G, Dicklin MR, Maki KC, Wu H.. " Effects of n-3 fatty acid treatment on monocyte phenotypes in humans with hypertriglyceridemia " J Clin Lipidol.. 2017 ; 11 : 1361-1371.
Pubmed PMID: 28942094.
Wu J, Wu H, An J, Ballantyne CM, Cyster JG.. " Critical role of integrin CD11c in splenic dendritic cell capture of missing-self CD47 cells to induce adaptive immunity. " Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.. 2018 ; 115 : 6786-6791.
Pubmed PMID: 29891680.
Lian Z, Saeed A, Peng X, Perrard XD, Jia X, Hussain A, Ballantyne CM, Wu H.. " Monocyte phenotyping and management of lipoprotein X syndrome. " J Clin Lipidol.. 2020 ; 14 : 850-858.
Pubmed PMID: 33011137.
Cox AR, Masschelin PM, Saha PK, Felix JB, Sharp R, Lian Z, Xia Y, Chernis N, Bader DA, Kim KH, Li X, Yoshino J, Li X, Li G, Sun Z, Wu H, Coarfa C, Moore DD, Klein S, Sun K, Hartig SM. " The rheumatoid arthritis drug auranofin lowers leptin levels and exerts antidiabetic effects in obese mice " Cell Metab .. 2022 Dec 6; 34 (12) : 1932-1946.
Pubmed PMID: 36243005.
Peng X, Lian Z, Perrard XD, Xiao Y, Ni J, O'Brien V, Dong H, Pownall HJ, Ballantyne CM, Wu H.. " Poloxamer 407 Induces Hypertriglyceridemia but Decreases Atherosclerosis in Ldlr-/- Mice. " Cells. 2022 May 30; 11 (11) : 1795.
Pubmed PMID: 35681489.
Peng X, Wu H.. " Inflammatory Links Between Hypertriglyceridemia and Atherogenesis " Curr Atheroscler Rep.. 2022 May ; 24 (5) : 297-306..
Pubmed PMID: 35274230.
Mao H, Li L, Fan Q, Angelini A, Saha PK, Coarfa C, Rajapakshe K, Perera D, Cheng J, Wu H, Ballantyne CM, Sun Z, Xie L, Pi X.. " Endothelium-specific depletion of LRP1 improves glucose homeostasis through inducing osteocalcin. " Nat Commun.. 2021 Sep 6; 12 (1) : 5296.
Pubmed PMID: 34489478.

Funding

Regulation of type I inflammation in diet-induced obesity: Grant funding from NIH

Inflammation and insulin resistance in aging: Grant funding from NIH

Inflammatory link between hypertriglyceridemia and atherosclerosis: Grant funding from American Heart Association