We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Sanofi-Cell Research Outstanding Research Article Award: Drs Shimin Zhao and Wei Xu for their paper entitled “Hypoxia induces mitochondrial protein lactylation to limit oxidative phosphorylation”;1 Drs Jiang-Fan Chen, Jia Qu, Xiaohong Cai and Kang Zhang for their paper entitled “40 Hz light flickering promotes sleep through cortical adenosine signaling”;2 and Drs Peilong Lu and Lei Liu for their paper entitled “Accurate de novo design of heterochiral protein–protein interactions”.3 Each award consists of a prize of ¥40,000 sponsored by Sanofi.

In the first award-winning research article published in the January 2024 issue, Drs Shimin Zhao, Wei Xu and their colleagues revealed that intracellular hypoxia-induced mitochondrial protein lactylation suppresses oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Mechanistically, AARS2 accumulates under hypoxia and acts as a mitochondrial lactyltransferase to lactylate PDHA1 and CPT2, reducing acetyl-CoA influx and suppressing OXPHOS. SIRT3 reverses lactylation of PDHA1 and CPT2 to activate OXPHOS.1

The neurochemical underpinning of flickering light stimulation was largely unclear. In the second award-winning research article, published in the February 2024 issue, Drs Jiang-Fan Chen, Jia Qu, Xiaohong Cai, Kang Zhang and their colleagues showed that 40 Hz light flickering elevates extracellular adenosine levels in the primary visual cortex via ENT2-mediated transmembrane transport. Importantly, they reported that 40 Hz light flickering for 30 min enhanced both NREM and REM sleep in mice and also promoted sleep in pediatric patients with insomnia, revealing a noninvasive therapeutic strategy for insomnia.2

In the third award-winning research article, featured in the August 2024 issue, Drs Peilong Lu, Lei Liu and their colleagues established a mirror-image strategy to de novo design D-proteins capable of stably binding natural L-proteins. These D-proteins with high enantiomeric specificity and target specificity exhibited remarkable thermal stability and resistance to proteolysis. Furthermore, crystal structures revealed a novel heterochiral helix–helix interaction between helical L-peptides and D-proteins. This design approach provides a robust platform for therapeutic and biotechnological applications.3

Please join us to congratulate Drs Shimin Zhao, Wei Xu, Jiang-Fan Chen, Jia Qu, Xiaohong Cai, Kang Zhang, Peilong Lu, Lei Liu and their colleagues on receiving the 2024 Sanofi-Cell Research Outstanding Paper Award.