Biophysics

Probing the modulation of enzyme kinetics by multi-temperature, time-resolved serial crystallography

1. Eike C. Schulz
2. Andreas Prester
3. David von Stetten
4. Gargi Gore
5. Caitlin E. Hatton
6. Kim Bartels
7. Jan-Philipp Leimkohl
8. Hendrik Schikora
9. Helen M. Ginn
10. Friedjof Tellkamp
11. Pedram Mehrabi

Reviewed by PREreview

Massively parallel genetic perturbation reveals the energetic architecture of an amyloid beta nucleation reaction

1. Anna Arutyunyan
2. Mireia Seuma
3. Andre J. Faure
4. Benedetta Bolognesi
5. Ben Lehner

Reviewed by PREreview

Connecting Chromatin Structures to Gene Regulation Using Dynamic Polymer Simulations

1. Yi Fu
2. Tianxiao Zhao
3. Finnegan Clark
4. Sofia Nomikou
5. Aristotelis Tsirigos
6. Timothée Lionnet

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study presents a valuable optimization algorithm to identify polymer models that best fit population-averaged chromosome contact data that will be of interest to physicists and biologists working on chromatin organization. The conclusions are supported by solid evidence.

Reviewed by eLife

Molecular Insights into Single-Chain Lipid Modulation of Acid-Sensing Ion Channel 3

1. Ramya Bandarupalli
2. Rebecca Roth
3. Robert C Klipp
4. John R Bankston
5. Jing Li

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Predicting the sequence-dependent backbone dynamics of intrinsically disordered proteins

1. Sanbo Qin
2. Huan-Xiang Zhou

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  In this useful study, a solid machine learning approach based on a broad set of systems to predict the R2 relaxation rates of residues in intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) is described. The ability to predict the patterns of R2 will be helpful to guide experimental studies of IDPs. A potential weakness is that the predicted R2 values may include both fast and slow motions, thus the predictions provide only limited new physical insights into the nature of the underlying protein dynamics, such as the most relevant timescale.

Reviewed by eLife

PUFA stabilizes a conductive state of the selectivity filter in IKs channels

1. Alessia Golluscio
2. Jodene Eldstrom
3. Jessica J Jowais
4. Marta Elena Perez
5. Kevin Peter Cunningham
6. Alicia De La Cruz
7. Xiaoan Wu
8. Valentina Corradi
9. D Peter Tieleman
10. David Fedida
11. H Peter Larsson

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This manuscript reveals an important mechanism of KCNQ1/IKs channel gating and PUFA modulation of this mechanism. This mechanism is supported by convincing single channel recordings, macroscopic current recordings and mutational analyses. These findings are of importance to the ion channel field and possibly future therapeutic applications.

Reviewed by eLife

N-acetylation of α-synuclein enhances synaptic vesicle clustering mediated by α-synuclein and lysophosphatidylcholine

1. Chuchu Wang
2. Chunyu Zhao
3. Hu Xiao
4. Jiali Qiang
5. Zhenying Liu
6. Jinge Gu
7. Shengnan Zhang
8. Dan Li
9. Yaoyang Zhang
10. Jacqueline Burré
11. Jiajia Diao
12. Cong Liu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  In this useful study, the authors show that N-acetylation of synuclein increases clustering of synaptic vesicles in vitro and that this effect is mediated by enhanced interaction with lysophosphatidylcholine. While the evidence for enhanced clustering is largely solid, the biological significance remains unclear.

Reviewed by eLife

Point set registration for combining fluorescence microscopy methods

1. Ivo Severins
2. Chirlmin Joo
3. John van Noort

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

CryoEM structures of Kv1.2 potassium channels, conducting and non-conducting

1. Yangyu Wu
2. Yangyang Yan
3. Youshan Yang
4. Shumin Bian
5. Alberto Rivetta
6. Ken Allen
7. Fred J Sigworth

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important manuscript presents several structures of the Kv1.2 voltage-gated potassium channel, based on state-of-the-art cryoEM techniques and algorithms. The authors present solid evidence for structures of an inactivating mutant of Kv1.2, DTX-bound Kv1.2 and of Kv1.2 in potassium-free solution (with presumably sodium ions bound within the selectivity filter). These structures advance our knowledge of the molecular basis of the slow inactivation process of potassium channels.

Reviewed by eLife

Hypersensitivity of the vimentin cytoskeleton to net-charge states and Coulomb repulsion

1. Bret A Unger
2. Chun Ying Wu
3. Alexander A Choi
4. Changdong He
5. Ke Xu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable study provides new insight into the disassembly of vimentin filaments and the dependence of this mechanism on net charge, albeit with incomplete evidence. In particular, the experimental replicates are limited (in most cases n=1), there is a lack of quantitative analysis to substantiate claims, inconsistency of the proposed mechanisms with previously published work, and lack of biochemical evidence supporting the observations in cells. Addressing these concerns would strengthen the manuscript and help support the proposed hypothesis on vimentin disassembly.

Reviewed by eLife