Biophysics

Conformational changes in twitchin kinase in vivo revealed by FRET imaging of freely moving C. elegans

1. Daniel Porto
2. Yohei Matsunaga
3. Barbara Franke
4. Rhys M Williams
5. Hiroshi Qadota
6. Olga Mayans
7. Guy M Benian
8. Hang Lu

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This paper will be of interest to mechanobiologists and muscle scientists interested in how contraction of muscle may be linked to mechanical activation of a kinase domain in a large structural protein in a living animal. The study combines imaging of the moving live animal with FRET measurements to detect the structural (and presumably the activation) state of twitchin in C. elegans. The data convincingly shows that this activation is coupled to muscle contraction.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1, Reviewer #2 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

The inherent flexibility of receptor binding domains in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

1. Hisham M Dokainish
2. Suyong Re
3. Takaharu Mori
4. Chigusa Kobayashi
5. Jaewoon Jung
6. Yuji Sugita

Reviewed by ScreenIT

Hsp40s play complementary roles in the prevention of tau amyloid formation

1. Rose Irwin
2. Ofrah Faust
3. Ivana Petrovic
4. Sharon Grayer Wolf
5. Hagen Hofmann
6. Rina Rosenzweig

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This paper addresses the intriguing hypothesis that different molecular chaperones may recognize and bind distinct tau species, and thus may use different mechanisms to prevent tau aggregation. The findings are very interesting and advance our understanding of how chaperones can counteract the deleterious effect of tau amyloidogenesis.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

LRET-derived HADDOCK structural models describe the conformational heterogeneity required for DNA cleavage by the Mre11-Rad50 DNA damage repair complex

1. Marella D Canny
2. Michael P Latham

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This study on the Mre11 and Rad50 proteins is of interest to biologists studying DNA repair. Advances in the understanding of Mre11-Rad50 mechanism, for instance how structural states are linked to DNA end detection and DNA processing as addressed in this study, are of central importance to research on genome stability and DNA repair, with implications in human disease such as cancer and immune disorders. Enzymatically, RAD50 is an ATPase and MRE11 is a nuclease with both exo- and endo-nuclease activities. How all these functions are catalyzed by the complex remains unresolved. This study identifies three conformations of ATP-bound P. furiosus Mre11-Rad50 complex: open, partially open, and closed. The work would benefit from further experiments to clarify the functional difference between the partially open and open conformations.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Piezo1 ion channels inherently function as independent mechanotransducers

1. Amanda H Lewis
2. Jörg Grandl

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The work, when completed, will provide important mechanistic detail on how Piezo channels, the most important and versatile mechanoreceptor molecules, functionally interact in the plane of the plasma membrane. It will be of interest to the field of mechanobiology and sensory mechanotransduction.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

The timing of natural killer cell response in coronavirus infection: a concise model perspective

1. Xiaochan Xu
2. Kim Sneppen

Reviewed by ScreenIT

Elucidation of SARS-Cov-2 Budding Mechanisms through Molecular Dynamics Simulations of M and E Protein Complexes

1. Logan Thrasher Collins
2. Tamer Elkholy
3. Shafat Mubin
4. David Hill
5. Ricky Williams
6. Kayode Ezike
7. Ankush Singhal

Reviewed by ScreenIT

Understanding the role of memory re-activation and cross-reactivity in the defense against SARS-CoV-2

1. Viola Denninger
2. Catherine K. Xu
3. Georg Meisl
4. Alexey S. Morgunov
5. Sebastian Fiedler
6. Alison Ilsley
7. Marc Emmenegger
8. Anisa Y. Malik
9. Monika A. Piziorska
10. Matthias M. Schneider
11. Sean R. A. Devenish
12. Vasilis Kosmoliaptsis
13. Adriano Aguzzi
14. Heike Fiegler
15. Tuomas P. J. Knowles

Reviewed by ScreenIT

Differential Interactions between Human ACE2 and Spike RBD of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern

1. Seonghan Kim
2. Yi Liu
3. Zewei Lei
4. Jeffrey Dicker
5. Yiwei Cao
6. X. Frank Zhang
7. Wonpil Im

Reviewed by ScreenIT

Minimal-invasive enhancement of auditory perception by terahertz wave modulation

1. Xiaoxuan Tan
2. Kaijie Wu
3. Shuang Liu
4. Yifang Yuan
5. Chao Chang
6. Wei Xiong

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The work investigates cochlear physiology by applying terahertz wave modulation to the outer hair cells (OHCs). Improved cochlea sensitivity and a change in potassium membrane current is demonstrated. The work is of clear interest to auditory neuroscientists and has the potential for future clinical interest.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife