YUAN Junying Earns the 2026 World Laureates Foundation Prize

Chengyu Zou’s Team Identifies a Key “Death Checkpoint” Limiting the Therapeutic Potential of Treg Cells

This study identifies a regulatory axis linking “Treg cell-specific metabolic programming–RIPK1 O-GlcNAcylation–programmed cell death” and elucidates how the metabolic program driven by the Treg cell-specific transcription factor FOXP3 determines the selective susceptibility of Treg cells to necroptosis in inflammatory environments through regulation of RIPK1 O-GlcNAcylation. It provides a new perspective on the molecular mechanisms underlying impaired Treg cell persistence and functional maintenance in inflammatory lesions.

Scientists Uncover a New GLP-1 Breakdown Pathway—and Use It to Build Longer-Lasting Drugs

This study identified IDE as an important regulator of GLP-1 stability, revealing a previously unrecognized pathway of GLP-1 degradation. Reducing IDE levels increased GLP-1 stability and enhanced its glucose-lowering effects. By engineering GLP-1 and its analogues to resist IDE-mediated degradation, the researchers developed D-Ser18-Semaglutide, which showed improved stability and more sustained metabolic effects in animal models. These findings suggest a new strategy for developing longer-lasting GLP-1-based therapeutics.

Cong Liu and Collaborators Reveal the Molecular Basis of Amyloid Fibril Assembly by Plant Seed Proteins

This study extends high-resolution amyloid structural analysis beyond the disease-associated proteins that have traditionally dominated the field and into the realm of plant seed storage proteins. It demonstrates that plant-derived proteins can assemble into highly ordered amyloid structures, provides a structural perspective on the self-assembly of plant and food proteins, and raises the possibility that protein aggregates from different biological sources may engage in selective molecular interactions.

Invited Review: Xu and Colleagues Systematically Dissect the Mechanisms, Regulation, and Clinical Translation of Necroptosis

This Review synthesizes the molecular mechanisms, regulatory networks, and translational landscape of necroptosis, and notably introduces a binary classification—extrinsic versus intrinsic subtypes—based on distinct trigger-sensing and signal-integration logic. This framework provides a valuable conceptual scaffold and highlights priority areas for future inquiry.

Cong Liu and Collaborators Reveal the In Situ Architecture of PolyG Aggregates in the Mouse Brain Using Cryo-Electron Tomography

This study reveals the in situ three-dimensional architecture of polyG aggregates in the NIID mouse brain and defines their local proteostasis microenvironment. It provides in situ structural evidence for the formation of NIID intranuclear aggregates and offers a new framework for understanding how non-canonical pathogenic protein aggregates reshape the cellular proteostasis environment.

Xu Daichao’s Group Publishes Invited Review on Programmed Cell Death in Aging-Associated Diseases

This review systematically integrates recent advances in the field of programmed cell death, providing a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding the pathogenesis of aging-related diseases and developing targeted therapeutic strategies.

FKBP8 Connects the Hsp70-Hsp90 Chaperone Machinery to the Folding of Membrane Proteins

Researchers identify FKBP8 as a membrane-anchored co-chaperone that recruits and organizes the Hsp70–Hsp90 chaperone network at the ER surface. This spatial organization enables efficient folding and dimerization of complex membrane proteins, including the ABC transporter ABCG2. The work reveals a previously unrecognized membrane-localized protein folding module essential for membrane protein biogenesis.

Novel Generative AI Model Enables Atomic-Scale Prediction of Protein-Protein Interactions

Researchers have developed Void-X, a novel generative AI model for predicting atomic packing in proteins. Void-X introduces a bottom-up strategy for protein interface design, offering a distinct alternative to conventional top-down methodologies.

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.