Biophysics

Altair-LSFM: A High-Resolution, Easy-to-Build Light-Sheet Microscope for Sub-Cellular Imaging

1. John Haug
2. Seweryn Gałecki
3. Hsin-Yu Lin
4. Xiaoding Wang
5. Kevin M Dean

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study presents Altair-LSFM, a solid and well-documented implementation of a light-sheet fluorescence microscope (LSFM) designed for accessibility and cost reduction. While the approach offers strengths such as the use of custom-machined baseplates and detailed assembly instructions, its overall impact is limited by the lack of live-cell imaging capabilities and the absence of a clear, quantitative comparison to existing LSFM platforms. As such, although technically competent, the broader utility and uptake of this system by the community may be limited.

Reviewed by eLife

Open Raman Microscopy (ORM): A Modular Hardware and Software Framework for Accessible Raman Imaging

1. Kevin T. Uning
2. Henry Brisebois
3. Conor C. Horgan
4. Magnus Jensen
5. Yue Yuan
6. Shiyue Liu
7. Elzbieta Stepula
8. Steven Vanuytsel
9. Vishal Kumar
10. Stephen Goldrick
11. Robert D. Knight
12. Martin A. B. Hedegaard
13. Michael B. Albro
14. Mads S. Bergholt
15. Michael R. Thomas

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Structural mechanisms of pump assembly and drug transport in the AcrAB-TolC efflux system

1. Xiaofei Ge
2. Zhiwei Gu
3. Jiawei Wang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Ge et al here report a structural study of the native tripartite multidrug efflux pump complexes from Escherichia coli that identifies a novel accessory subunit, YbjP, the structure of the native TolC-YbjP-AcrABZ complex, as well as structures of the AcrB protein in L, T, and O conformations. The strength of the structural data is compelling, and the importance of the findings is potentially fundamental. However, additional analysis and comparison with pre-existing data would help to put the obtained data and its impact in the proper context, and the inclusion of functional data would help to substantiate some claims that are currently incompletely supported.

Reviewed by eLife

Structural Basis of Cold and Menthol Sensing by TRPM8

1. Hyuk-Joon Lee
2. Cheon-Gyu Park
3. Justin Gerald Fedor
4. Wyatt A. Peele
5. Mario J. Borgnia
6. Seok-Yong Lee

Reviewed by PREreview

Insights into substrate binding and utilization by hyaluronan synthase

1. Zachery Stephens
2. Julia Karasinska
3. Jochen Zimmer

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This work provides a fundamental molecular mechanism of how a single enzyme can coordinate the ordered assembly of hyaluronan, a complex polysaccharide, from two different building blocks in an alternating pattern. The authors present compelling evidence by combining high-resolution structural data with rigorous biochemical validation to define the underlying process. Major strengths of the study include the clarity and coherence of the mechanistic insights and the complementary use of structural and functional approaches to address the research question.

Reviewed by eLife

Functionally-Coupled Ion Channels Begin Co-assembling at the Start of Their Synthesis

1. Roya Pournejati
2. Jessica M Huang
3. Michael Ma
4. Claudia M Moreno
5. Oscar Vivas

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental manuscript provides compelling evidence that BK and CaV1.3 channels can co-localize as ensembles early in the biosynthetic pathway, including within the ER and Golgi. The findings, supported by a range of imaging and proximity assays, offer insights into channel organization in both heterologous and endogenous systems. The data substantiate the central claims, while highlighting intriguing mechanistic questions for future studies: the determinants of mRNA co-localization, the temporal dynamics of ensemble trafficking, and the physiological implications of pre-assembly for channel function at the plasma membrane.

Reviewed by eLife

Lenacapavir-induced Lattice Hyperstabilization is Central to HIV-1 Capsid Failure at the Nuclear Pore Complex and in the Cytoplasm

1. Arpa Hudait
2. Ryan C Burdick
3. Ellie K Bare
4. Vinay K Pathak
5. Gregory A Voth

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study investigates how the HIV inhibitor lenacapavir influences capsid mechanics and interactions with the nuclear pore complex. It provides important insights into how drug-induced hyperstabilization of the viral shell can compromise its structural integrity during nuclear entry. While the modeling is technically sophisticated and the results are promising, some mechanistic interpretations rely on assumptions embedded in the simulations, leaving parts of the evidence incomplete.

Reviewed by eLife

Evolution of a fuzzy ribonucleoprotein complex in viral assembly

1. Huaying Zhao
2. Tiansheng Li
3. Sergio A Hassan
4. Ai Nguyen
5. Siddhartha AK Datta
6. Guofeng Zhang
7. Camden Trent
8. Agata M Czaja
9. Di Wu
10. Maria A Aronova
11. Kin Kui Lai
12. Grzegorz Piszczek
13. Richard D Leapman
14. Jonathan W Yewdell
15. Peter Schuck

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is a valuable study that combines biophysical and evolutionary approaches to understand why particular mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 protein N arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. The evidence is solid and supports the conclusions.

Reviewed by eLife

Theory of non-dilute binding and surface phase separation applied to membrane-binding proteins

1. Xueping Zhao
2. Daxiao Sun
3. Giacomo Bartolucci
4. Anthony A Hyman
5. Alf Honigmann
6. Christoph A Weber

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study presents a compelling theoretical framework for understanding condensation or phase separation of membrane-bound proteins, with a focus on the organization of tight junction components. By incorporating non-dilute binding effects into thermodynamic models and validating the model's predictions with in vitro experiments on the tight junction protein ZO-1, the authors provide a quantitative tool that combines theory and experiments and will help researchers in the field quantitatively interpret their findings. Given that phase separation of membrane bound molecules is becoming key in signaling, spanning from immune signaling to cell-cell adhesion, this work will be of broad interest for cell biologists and biophysicists.

Reviewed by eLife

Ω-Loop mutations control dynamics of the active site by modulating the hydrogen-bonding network in PDC-3 β-lactamase

1. Shuang Chen
2. Andrew R Mack
3. Andrea M Hujer
4. Christopher R Bethel
5. Robert A Bonomo
6. Shozeb Haider

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript uses adaptive-bandit simulations to describe the dynamics of the Pseudomonas-derived chephalosporinase PDC-3 β-lactamase and its mutants to better understand antibiotic resistance. The finding, that clinically observed mutations alter the flexibility of the Ω- and R2-loops, reshaping the cavity of the active site, is valuable to the field. The evidence is considered incomplete, however, with the need for analysis to demonstrate equilibrium weighting of adaptive trajectories and related measures of statistical significance.

Reviewed by eLife