Bioengineering

Rapid Cell-Free Combinatorial Mutagenesis Workflow Using Small Oligos Suitable for High-Iteration, Active Learning-Guided Protein Engineering

1. Ryan Godin
2. Sepehr Hejazi
3. Bret Lange
4. Basmala Aldamak
5. Nigel F. Reuel

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Glycogen Engineering Improves the Starvation Resistance of Mesenchymal stem cells and their Therapeutic Efficacy in Pulmonary Fibrosis

1. Yongyue Xu
2. Mamatali Rahman
3. Zhaoyan Wang
4. Bo Zhang
5. Hanqi Xie
6. Lei Wang
7. Haowei Xu
8. Xiaodan Sun
9. Shan Cheng
10. Qiong Wu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study presents a novel approach to enhance the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) by genetically modifying their glycogen synthesis pathway, resulting in increased glycogen accumulation and improved cell survival under starvation conditions, particularly in the context of experimental pulmonary fibrosis. The methods and findings are generally solid and could be strengthened by investigating the kinetics of persistence, the immunomodulatory effects, and the underlying improved mechanism of action of MSCs in this pulmonary fibrosis model. If confirmed, this approach could suggest potential methods to improve the therapeutic functionality of MSCs in cell therapy strategies.

Reviewed by eLife

Open-source cell culture automation system with integrated cell counting for passaging microplate cultures

1. Greg Courville
2. Shivanshi Vaid
3. Alexis Toruño
4. Paul Lebel
5. Joana P. Cabrera
6. Preethi Raghavan
7. Axel Jacobsen
8. George Bell
9. Manuel D. Leonetti
10. Rafael Gómez-Sjöberg

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

De novo design of miniprotein agonists and antagonists targeting G protein-coupled receptors

1. Edin Muratspahić
2. David Feldman
3. David E. Kim
4. Xiangli Qu
5. Ana-Maria Bratovianu
6. Paula Rivera-Sánchez
7. Federica Dimitri
8. Jason Cao
9. Brian P. Cary
10. Matthew J. Belousoff
11. Peter Keov
12. Qingchao Chen
13. Yue Ren
14. Justyn Fine
15. Isaac Sappington
16. Thomas Schlichthaerle
17. Jason Z. Zhang
18. Arvind Pillai
19. Ljubica Mihaljević
20. Magnus Bauer
21. Susana Vázquez Torres
22. Amir Motmaen
23. Gyu Rie Lee
24. Long Tran
25. Xinru Wang
26. Inna Goreshnik
27. Dionne K. Vafeados
28. Justin E. Svendsen
29. Parisa Hosseinzadeh
30. Nicolai Lindegaard
31. Matthäus Brandt
32. Yann Waltenspühl
33. Kristine Deibler
34. Luke Oostdyk
35. William Cao
36. Lakshmi Anantharaman
37. Lance Stewart
38. Lauren Halloran
39. Jamie B. Spangler
40. Patrick M. Sexton
41. Bryan L. Roth
42. Brian E. Krumm
43. Denise Wootten
44. Christopher G. Tate
45. Christoffer Norn
46. David Baker

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

CRISPR-Edited DPSCs, Constitutively Expressing BDNF Enhance Dentin Regeneration in Injured Teeth

1. Ji Hyun Kim
2. Muhammad Irfan
3. Sreelekshmi Sreekumar
4. Atsawasuwan Phimon
5. Seung Chung

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study on the effect of the trophic factor BDNF upon dental cells is an understudied subject that is relevant to dental regeneration and repair. Given that the topic is new and has not been covered previously, the report is a useful foray into a new area of investigation, although several experimental results could be strengthened. The connection of BDNF and dental health is a solid attempt in potentially translating trophic factor signaling clinically, which has been stymied in past efforts.

Reviewed by eLife

Calibration and validation strategy for electromechanical cardiac digital twins

1. Zhinuo Jenny Wang
2. Maxx Holmes
3. Ruben Doste
4. Julia Camps
5. Francesca Margara
6. Mariano Vazquez
7. Blanca Rodriguez

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is a potentially important study that explores the relevant range of parameter values for calibration and validation of cardiac electromechanics in ventricular models. Although much of the work presented is solid, the evidence provided to support the authors' key scientific claims is incomplete, especially as it relates to the emphasis on standardized validation and verification approaches. Notably, the level of model personalization presented in this work falls short of the threshold for what could reasonably be called a "digital twin", even by the relatively relaxed standards that have emerged in computational physiology and related fields in recent years.

Reviewed by eLife

Bacterial Wastewater-Based Epidemiology Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and Machine Learning

1. Liam K. Herndon
2. Yirui Zhang
3. Fareeha Safir
4. Babatunde Ogunlade
5. Halleh B. Balch
6. Alexandria B. Boehm
7. Jennifer A. Dionne

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Modular DNA Barcoding of Nanobodies Enables Multiplexed in situ Protein Imaging and High-throughput Biomolecule Detection

1. Shilin Zhong
2. Ruiyu Wang
3. Xinwei Gao
4. Qingchun Guo
5. Rui Lin
6. Minmin Luo

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents an important practical modification of the orthogonal hybridization chain reaction (HCR) technique, a promising yet underutilized method with broad potential for future applications across various fields. The authors advance this technique by integrating peptide ligation technology and nanobody-based antibody mimetics - cost-effective and scalable alternatives to conventional antibodies - into a DNA-immunoassay framework, which convincingly merges oligonucleotide-based detection with immunoassay methodologies.

Reviewed by eLife

Magnetically steered cell therapy for reduction of intraocular pressure as a treatment strategy for open-angle glaucoma

1. M Reza Bahrani Fard
2. Jessica Chan
3. A Thomas Read
4. Guorong Li
5. Lin Cheng
6. Babak N Safa
7. Seyed Mohammad Siadat
8. Anamik Jhunjhunwala
9. Hans E Grossniklaus
10. Stanislav Y Emelianov
11. W Daniel Stamer
12. Markus H Kuehn
13. C Ross Ethier

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study has fundamental findings that support the potential application of exogenous stem cell therapy as a viable therapeutic option for the management of intraocular pressure (IOP) and to increase outflow facility. The evidence supporting the clinical application of stem cells is compelling, using a combination of established in vivo and ex vivo experimental techniques. The work will be of interest to both basic stem cell biologists and clinical glaucoma specialists.

Reviewed by eLife

AI.zymes: A Modular Platform for Evolutionary Enzyme Design

1. Lucas P. Merlicek
2. Jannik Neumann
3. Abbie Lear
4. Vivian Degiorgi
5. Moor M. de Waal
6. Tudor‐Stefan Cotet
7. Adrian J. Mulholland
8. H. Adrian Bunzel

Reviewed by Arcadia Science