Education:
Postdoctoral Training, Penn State University School of Medicine, 2002.
Ph.D. Degree, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden 1999.
M.D. Degree, Guiyang Medical College, China, 1983.

Research Focus:
Exploring intrinsic therapy in osteoarthritic cartilage and cartilage repair/regeneration using two animals models: Dominant negative P38 MAP kinase transgenic model and Primary Osteoarthritic guinea pig model.

SDF-1/CXCR-4 pathway regulates chondrocyte death and cartilage degeneration during OA development.

In osteoarthritis (OA) the cartilage degeneration and the loss of chondrocytes are key findings. The decreasing of chondrocyte number is due to cell death including apoptosis and necrosis. The evidences show the chondrocytes in OA cartilage may recapitulate the functions of a developing cartilage in differentiation program. If we can regulate chondrocyte differentiation and stop cell death, we can find a way to repair cartilage. For example, the discovery of intracellular kinases involved in chondrocytes proliferentiation & differentiation is a renewed hope to stimulate an intrinsic cartilage repair process. If chondrocytes can be regulated by these factors, they can be stimulated to redifferentiate and to synthesize new matrix components to repair damaged articular cartilage from OA.

Honors:
New Investigator Recognition Awards (Year 2001 Orthopaedic Research Society).

Osteoarthritis Research Society Internatinal (OARSI) Young Investigator Award (2002).

Selected Publications:
1. Wei, L., Svensson, O. and Hjerpe, A. Correlation of Morphological and Biochemical Changes in the Natural History of the Spontaneous Osteoarthrosis in Guinea Pigs. Arthritis Rheumatism. 1997: 40 (11): 2075-2083.

2. Edin de Bri, Wei, L., Finn P Reinholt, Silwa MW, Dick Heinegard, and Svensson, O. Ultrastructural immunolocalization of bone sioloprotein in guinea pig osteoarthrosis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 1997; 5 (6): 387-393.

3. Wei, L., Svensson, O., and Hjerpe, A. Metabolic Turnover of Sulfated Glycosaminoglycans and Proteoglycans in Guinea Pigs Knee Articular Cartilage during Development of Primary Osteoarthrosis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 1998; 6 (6): 410-416.

4. Wei, L., Lundberg, A., and Svensson, O. Mechanical Load and Primary Guinea Pig Osteoarthrosis. Acta Scandinavica Orthopadica. 1998; 69 (4): 351-357.

5. Edin de Bri, Wei, Lei, Olle Svesson, majeed Chowdhury, Susan A Mooak, and Robert A Greenwald. Effect of an inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases on spontaneous osteoarthritis in guinea pigs. Dental Research 1998;vol12:82-85.

6. Edin de Bri and Wei, Lei. Biochemical and histological effects of tetracyclines on spontaneous osteoarthritis in guinea pigs. Image Anal Stereol 2000;19:125-131.

7. Wei, L., Hjerpe, A., and Svensson, O. The effect of load on articular cartilage matrix and the development of osteoarthrosis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 2001; 9(5): 447-53.

8. Xuechu Zhen, Lei Wei, Qiuqian Wu, Yue Zhang, and Qian Chen. Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase p38 Mediates Regulation of Chondrocyte Differentiation by Parathyroid Hormone. Xuechu Zhen, Lei Wei, Qiuqian Wu, Yue Zhang, and Qian Chen. Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC). 2001; 276(7): 4879-4885.

9. Wei, L., Hultenby K, Hjerpe, A. Brismar H and Svensson, O. Distribution of chondroitin 4-sulfate epitopes (2/B/6) in spontaneous guinea pig osteoarthrosis. Acta Scandinavica Orthopadica. 2003; 74(1): 16-21.