24-Jul-2026 BAM15 improves oocyte quality against obesity via PPARγ-dependent mitochondrial function Higher Education Press Obesity is increasingly recognized as a major factor contributing to female reproductive dysfunction and declining fertility. Excessive lipid accumulation and oxidative stress under obese conditions can disrupt mitochondrial homeostasis in oocytes, leading to impaired meiotic maturation, abnormal cytoskeletal organization, DNA damage, and reduced embryonic developmental competence. However, effective interventions targeting obesity-associated oocyte deterioration remain limited. Journal Protein & Cell
24-Jul-2026 Structural and mechanistic insights into the UBR4-KCMF1-Calmodulin complex: a new frontier in cancer and neurodegeneration Higher Education Press A recent study published in Protein & Cell by researchers from the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) provides critical structural and functional insights into the UBR4-KCMF1-Calmodulin (UKC) complex, revealing its pivotal role in protein quality control, cancer cell survival, and stress adaptation. The work, led by Professors Renhong Yan and Baotong Zhang, elucidates how this complex assembles and functions as an E4 ubiquitin ligase, extending ubiquitin chains on pre-tagged substrates to regulate protein degradation. Journal Protein & Cell
24-Jul-2026 Phase separation switch: How AIM2 condensates orchestrate immune activation Higher Education Press — Chinese scientists reveal that the DNA sensor AIM2 forms liquid-liquid phase separation to initiate broad inflammatory responses Journal Protein & Cell
24-Jul-2026 LncRNA Gas5 directs SUV39H2 to establish heterochromatin and maintain genome stability Higher Education Press This work was funded by Key Research and Development Program, Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2022YFA1103103), National Natural Science Foundation of China (32488101, 32330030, 32370870, and 32170801), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (22120250336), and Fundamental and Interdisciplinary Disciplines Breakthrough Plan of the Ministry of Education of China (JYB2025XDXM508). The authors thank the Peak Disciplines (Type IV) of Institutions of Higher Learning in Shanghai, and the Frontier Science Research Center for Stem Cells, Ministry of Education for their support.; 4) Method of Research: experimental study; 5) Subject of Research: cell. Journal Protein & Cell
24-Jul-2026 Organelle-anchored translation factories: the roles of neuronal RNA-binding protein condensates in organizing local protein synthesis in neurological diseases Higher Education Press Neurons face an exceptional proteostasis challenge because their extreme polarization requires rapid proteome remodeling at distal axons and synapses. Rather than acting as separate systems, ribonucleoprotein granules and membranous organelles cooperate to form mobile translation platforms. Journal Protein & Cell
24-Jul-2026 Human embryo editing: 10 years of breakthroughs and challenges Higher Education Press Over the past decade, the field of human embryo editing has witnessed remarkable advancements and triggered significant ethical debates. Since the first reported editing in 2015, the field has shown promise for treating genetic disorders and studying early development, the field has shown promise for treating genetic disorders and studying early development, but it still grapples with safety concerns, including off-target effects, mosaicism and the long-term impacts of genetic alterations, as well as ongoing ethical controversies. Journal Protein & Cell
24-Jul-2026 Patient‑specific profiling of TCR‑T cell efficacy enabled by a rapid and standardized reporter system Higher Education Press T cell receptor-engineered T (TCR-T) cell therapy has shown promising clinical potential, yet accurate assessment of patient suitability remains challenging because current genomic and transcriptomic approaches do not directly capture physiological antigen presentation or authentic T-cell responsiveness. Here, we developed a rapid and standardized Jurkat-based reporter platform, termed the TCR-SignalFunc system, for functional evaluation of TCR-T cell therapeutic potential. Journal Protein & Cell
24-Jul-2026 Structural basis of Arpin homodimerization reveals cooperative inhibition of the Arp2/3 complex through dual-site engagement Higher Education Press The Arp2/3 complex, a core component of the actin filament network, mediates the formation of branching points upon activation by nucleation-promoting factors (NPFs), which is essential for diverse cellular processes such as lamellipodial protrusion and directional migration. Journal Protein & Cell
22-Jul-2026 Reducing muscle protein activity strengthened bone health University of Missouri-Columbia According to researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, reducing the activity of myostatin, a protein that normally stops muscles from growing too big, improved bone density in a preclinical mouse model of pregnant women with osteogenesis imperfecta. Journal Bone
