Academic Background Protein homeostasis (proteostasis) is a core mechanism for maintaining normal cellular function, with the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) responsible for degrading approximately 80% of abnormal proteins. Traditionally, proteins were thought to require ubiquitination for recognition and degradation by the 26S proteasome. Howeve...
Academic Background G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of membrane proteins in the human body, transmitting extracellular signals through heterotrimeric G proteins (composed of Gα and Gβγ subunits). G proteins function as molecular switches, with their activity states regulated by the GTP/GDP cycle: - Inactive state: Gα bind...
Academic Background Microbiomes are among the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, consisting of hundreds of functionally distinct microbial populations interacting through complex resource exchange networks. However, a long-standing unresolved question is: How is this extraordinary diversity maintained through metabolic interactions among populations...
1. Research Background The Parkinson’s disease-associated protein PARK7/DJ-1 (hereafter referred to as PARK7) is a multifunctional protein that plays critical roles in various pathological conditions including neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and inflammation. Despite lacking a conventional N-terminal signal peptide sequence, PARK7 can be secret...
Academic Background Biomolecular condensates are membrane-less organelles formed through liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) within cells, playing critical roles in key biological processes such as gene expression and signal transduction. However, due to limitations in traditional imaging techniques, high-resolution structural information about t...
1. Research Background Atherosclerosis is the primary pathological basis of cardiovascular diseases, closely associated with endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction. Hemodynamic factors play a critical role in the regional selectivity of atherosclerosis: oscillatory shear stress (OS) (e.g., at vascular bifurcations) promotes plaque formation, while pulsa...