We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 Sanofi-Cell Research Outstanding Research Article Award: Drs. Tianqing Li, Zongyong Ai and Weizhi Ji for their paper entitled “Dissecting peri-implantation development using cultured human embryos and embryo-like assembloids”;1 Drs. Qiao Wu, Wei-jia Wang and Xuehui Hong for their paper entitled “Mannose antagonizes GSDME-mediated pyroptosis through AMPK activated by metabolite GlcNAc-6P”;2 and Drs. Lianfeng Wu, Xianjue Ma, and Jian Yang for their paper entitled “Maternal aging increases offspring adult body size via transmission of donut-shaped mitochondria”.3 Each award consists of a prize of ¥40,000 sponsored by Sanofi.

The mechanism of human peri-implantation development was not elucidated before. In the first award-winning research article published in the September 2023 issue, by using cultured human embryos and embryo-like assembloids, Drs. Tianqing Li, Zongyong Ai, Weizhi Ji and their colleagues showed a complete cell atlas of the early post-implantation lineages, and reported a synergistic regulatory mechanism of BMP, WNT, and Nodal signaling pathways in determining the fate of human embryonic and extraembryonic lineages.1

In the second award-winning research article, published in the December 2023 issue, Drs. Qiao Wu, Wei-jia Wang, Xuehui Hong and their colleagues demonstrated that mannose metabolism elevates the level of GlcNAc-6P, which activates AMPK to inhibit GSDME-mediated pyroptosis. Furthermore, they showed mannose’s protective effect in alleviating chemotherapy-induced side effects in both mouse models and patients.2

The impact of maternal age at childbearing on offspring adult traits was largely unclear. In the third award-winning research article, featured in the November 2023 issue, Drs. Lianfeng Wu, Xianjue Ma, Jian Yang and their colleagues discovered an evolutionarily conserved effect of maternal age on offspring adult size in humans, Drosophila, and Caenorhabditis elegans. Using C. elegans, they showed that old mothers transmit donut-shaped aged mitochondria to their offspring, which in turn activates AMPK-TGFβ signaling pathways and consequently increases the offspring’s adult size.3

We kindly invite you to join us in extending congratulations to Drs. Tianqing Li, Zongyong Ai, Weizhi Ji, Qiao Wu, Wei-jia Wang, Xuehui Hong, Lianfeng Wu, Xianjue Ma, Jian Yang and their colleagues for their achievements in receiving the 2023 Sanofi-Cell Research Outstanding Paper Award.