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05-272026

The Cong Liu team and collaborators develop a new biomarker-based method for synucleinopathy subtyping

This study focused on tubulin polymerization promoting protein (TPPP/p25), an oligodendrocyte-enriched protein. The researchers elucidated the molecular mechanism of TPPP/p25 amyloid aggregation and determined the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of TPPP/p25 amyloid fibrils. Based on these findings, they rationally designed miniCORE as a seed amplification assay (SAA) substrate and established TPPP/p25-SAA to detect pathological TPPP/p25 amyloid seeds in patient cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). By linking mechanistic discovery, structural analysis and clinical assay development, this work identifies TPPP/p25 as a novel biomarker for synucleinopathy subtyping, with potential value in the molecular differential diagnosis of MSA.
05-062026

Researchers developed a structure-informed deep generation for de novo metabolite annotation in untargeted metabolomics

Metabolite annotation remains challenging in untargeted metabolomics. Here, researchers present MetGenX, a structure-informed deep generative model that generates structures from MS2 spectra to improve metabolite annotation and enable discovery of novel chemical entities.
05-022026

Structural Rewiring of IL-7R Dimerization by an Oncogenic Transmembrane Mutation Can Be Reversed by Rational Design

Mutations in transmembrane domains (TMDs) of cytokine receptors often drive ligand-independent signaling in cancer, yet their mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we show that an oncogenic mutation in the IL-7 receptor rewires its dimerization mode to enable constitutive activation. Structure-guided transmembrane peptides selectively disrupt this aberrant signaling, providing a strategy to target disease-causing TMD mutations.
04-302026

Cong Liu’s team reveals the in situ structure of bacterial biofilms using cryo-electron tomography

This study combines in situ cryo-ET observation of biofilm architecture with cryo-EM determination of the atomic structures of biofilm-associated filaments, providing multiscale structural information on S. oneidensis MR-1 biofilms. These findings offer new insights into the structural organization and functional division of labor within S. oneidensis MR-1 biofilms, and provide a structural basis for future rational engineering of S. oneidensis MR-1 biofilms to improve the efficiency of microbial fuel cells and environmental remediation.
04-302026

Cong Liu and collaborators reveal how small-molecule probes recognize patient-derived pathological TTR aggregates

In this study, the authors determined the structures of TTR amyloid fibrils derived from patient abdominal fat biopsy tissues and revealed the binding modes of CR and thioflavin S (ThS). The study demonstrates that TTR amyloid fibrils from adipose tissue and cardiac tissue share highly similar structures, providing a structural basis for the clinical diagnosis of ATTR and for the design of small-molecule tracers.
04-282026

Glucose Hypometabolism and p-Tau Reveal a Synergistic Mechanism in Alzheimer’s Disease

This study elucidates the molecular mechanism by which reduced glucose metabolism and p-Tau synergistically drive AD progression through regulating the RIPK1-mediated necroptosis pathway.
04-082026

From single-cell fate divergence to extracellular protease–mediated terminal events: redefining necrotic cell death

This study provides two key conceptual advances in our understanding of cell death. First, it reveals that even under identical death-inducing conditions, individual cells can adopt distinct fates, thereby highlighting an unexpected level of heterogeneity and establishing cell death regulation at single-cell resolution. Second, it demonstrates that plasma membrane rupture alone might not represent the terminal endpoint of necrosis; instead, necrosis includes a downstream execution phase characterized by extracellular protease–mediated proteolysis.
04-012026

Electric Dipole Moment Drives Dynamics of TNFR1 Transmembrane Signaling

Scientists discovered the role of electrostatic dipole moment in controlling the dynamics of TNFR1 signaling.
02-122026

Native NMDA Receptor Structures Reveal Conformational Diversity and Fully Opening Mechanism

The study reveals that GluN2A is the most prevalent subunit across native NMDAR populations and displays pronounced conformational flexibility in its amino-terminal domain. This intrinsic flexibility provides a structural explanation for the fast-gating kinetics and dominant functional role of GluN2A-containing receptors in the brain.
02-092026

Researchers Developed a Deep-Coverage, High-Throughput Method for Single-Cell Metabolomics

Current single-cell metabolomics methods suffer from low sensitivity and limited coverage of small-molecule metabolites. Researchers developed an ion mobility–resolved mass cytometry technology incorporating selective ion accumulation and cell superposition strategies, which markedly enhance both sensitivity and robustness. This technology delivers unprecedented sensitivity and coverage, capturing over 5,000 metabolic peaks and ~800 metabolites from individual cells in a high-throughput manner.

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