Major chemical and medical researches from PKU published in one day

Peking University, March 21, 2025: In a stunning achievement that saw two top-notch science journals each publish one article from Peking University on the same day, March 6, Nature published a study led by Kong Wei, professor from the School of Basic Medical Sciences, revealing a novel anti-atherosclerosis strategy; while Science published one led by Jiao Ning, professor from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, which reported a new breakthrough in C=C double bond deconstruction.

Kong’s research, titled “Sensing ceramides by CYSLTR2 and P2RY6 to aggravate atherosclerosis”, identified for the first time the endogenous receptors CYSLTR2 and P2RY6 for ceramides and uncovered the molecular mechanism where ceramides exacerbate atherosclerosis and atherosclerosis associated with chronic kidney disease through activating receptors and inflammasomes. This discovery provides a brand-new solution to residual lipid risk, suggesting targeting ceramide receptors is likely to become a crux in anti-atherosclerosis treatments.

Whereas in Jiao’s study, titled “Catalytic remodeling of complex alkenes to oxonitriles through C=C double bond deconstruction”, a heterogeneous copper catalyst was successfully synthesized, achieving the transformation of complex alkene molecules to oxonitriles and enabling precise editing of the molecular skeletons of drugs, natural products, and other complex molecules. “This method is like a ‘molecular scalpel’ that selectively cuts C=C double bonds within molecules and achieve precise molecular skeleton editing," he explained. “This work fills an important piece in our research on the cleavage and transformation of carbon-carbon single bonds, double bonds, triple bonds, and aromatic ring bonds." 

Written by: Fan Xiaofei
Edited by: Liu Xin, Chen Shizhuo
Source: Peking University Health Science Center(Chinese)