Prof. ZHU Dahai
Institute of Basic Medicine,
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences

Prof. Huang Xun
Institute of Genetics and
Developmental Biology, CAS

Living organism consists of three essential elements: “Matter, Energy and Information”. It has long been acknowledged that the only function of cell metabolism is to provide material and energy in order to establish and maintain physiological homeostasis at the organism levels. However, recent researches on cell metabolism with newly developed technologies have revealed unanticipated signaling functions of cell metabolism during development and in human diseases especially in cancer biology. It has been well accepted now that metabolites including intermediate metabolites have signaling roles in regulating variety of biological process such as development beside of its function for providing substrates and energy. However, we are still in the infant stage for identifying the signaling metabolites, investigating their functional significance and elucidating molecular mechanisms in establishing and maintaining homeostasis in a living organism. In this section, we will discuss the recent progress and current status in understanding of regulatory role of cell metabolism during development and aim to set up a platform for promoting further collaboration in this excitingly emerging field.