Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), the fat layer surrounding blood vessels, is increasingly recognized as an active regulator of vascular function rather than a passive structural cushion. Yet whether PVAT contains functionally important sympathetic nerves has remained debated, largely because conventional two-dimensional imaging can miss sparse, spatially complex neural structures.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) remains a leading cause of death worldwide. Elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a major modifiable driver of ASCVD, and PCSK9 has become an important therapeutic target because it regulates hepatic LDL receptor recycling and circulating LDL-C levels. Although PCSK9-targeting monoclonal antibodies and siRNA therapies can substantially lower LDL-C, their cost and need for repeated administration have motivated efforts to develop longer-lasting and more accessible approaches.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is marked by insulin resistance together with the progressive failure of pancreatic β-cells. Increasing evidence suggests that this failure is shaped not only by β-cells themselves, but also by the local islet immune microenvironment, where resident and recruited macrophages can influence inflammation, islet architecture, and insulin secretion. Exercise is a cornerstone of diabetes management, yet how it acts within this islet microenvironment has remained unclear.

Ependymoma is a central nervous system tumor that occurs primarily in children and can arise in the supratentorial region, posterior fossa, or spinal cord. Although molecular classification has substantially improved disease stratification and prognostic assessment, the metabolic phenotypes associated with the major pediatric subtypes have remained poorly defined. Because pediatric ependymoma is rare, assembling a cohort that spans multiple molecularly defined subtypes for systematic metabolic comparison is itself challenging.

Diabetes is a highly prevalent chronic condition and a major contributor to the global burden of disease, posing substantial challenges to health systems. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains its leading complication, and people with diabetes face a two- to four-fold higher risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality than the general population. Control of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), collectively referred to as ABC risk factors, is a cornerstone of cardiovascular prevention in diabetes.

Lysosomes were once viewed mainly as cellular waste disposers, but are now recognized as key hubs for nutrient sensing and metabolic signaling. Still, what lysosomes contribute metabolically inside high-demand neurons in the intact brain remains elusive.

Aging is a major risk factor for chronic diseases, and calorie restriction (CR) is a robust non-pharmacological intervention that can extend health span in multiple species. Alternative splicing (AS) generates multiple RNA isoforms from a single pre-mRNA and becomes dysregulated with age; intriguingly, prior work suggests that CR can attenuate age-associated splicing noise. What has remained unclear is whether AS responses to CR are coordinated across tissues and whether they scale with the level of restriction.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 6%−20% of reproductive-aged women, and is commonly accompanied by irregular menstrual cycles and anovulatory infertility. The mechanisms underlying menstrual cycle irregularities associated with PCOS, and how they may change after pregnancy remain incompletely understood.

As an emerging branch of clinical medicine, microbiota medicine has attracted worldwide attention from clinicians, medical educators, patient communities, and industry. However, this developing field still lacks consensus on its fundamental principles as well as guidelines for clinical and educational practice. An expert panel was convened by the journal Microbiota Medicine Research at the 2025 CHINAGUT Conference to develop the principles and practice guidelines of microbiota medicine.

The intestinal epithelium undergoes rapid renewal every 3–5 days, a process driven by intestinal stem cells (ISCs) located at the base of crypts. While ISCs play an essential role in epithelial regeneration following injury, such as that induced by chemotherapy or radiation, the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain incompletely understood.