Developmental Biology

Single-cell characterization of neovascularization using hiPSC-derived endothelial cells in a 3D microenvironment

1. Simon Rosowski
2. Caroline Remmert
3. Maren Marder
4. Misao Akishiba
5. Judith Bushe
6. Annette Feuchtinger
7. Alina Platen
8. Siegfried Ussar
9. Fabian Theis
10. Sandra Wiedenmann
11. Matthias Meier

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment:

  A comprehensive single-cell transcriptomic study was performed in this study to gain insight into the development of endothelial cells and other co-developing mural cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) in 3D environment. This study gave us important information about signature genes, trajectories, and cell-cell interactions at various stages of vessel formation. Accordingly, the results of this study could potentially be of valuable interest to scientists working in the fields of stem cells, regenerative medicine, and tissue engineering.

  (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 #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Urotensin II-related peptides, Urp1 and Urp2, control zebrafish spine morphology

1. Elizabeth A Bearce
2. Zoe H Irons
3. Johnathan R O'Hara-Smith
4. Colin J Kuhns
5. Sophie I Fisher
6. William E Crow
7. Daniel T Grimes

Reviewed by Review Commons

NFATc1 marks articular cartilage progenitors and negatively determines articular chondrocyte differentiation

1. Fan Zhang
2. Yuanyuan Wang
3. Ying Zhao
4. Manqi Wang
5. Bin Zhou
6. Bin Zhou
7. Xianpeng Ge

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  In this study, the authors identified that NFATc1 acts as a key regulator of articular chondrocyte differentiation during early mouse development. Using multiple pulse-chase experiments the authors found that NFATc1 expressing cells generated most of the articular chondrocytes, but not growth plate chondrocytes. Interestingly, NFATc1 expression in chondrocytes diminished as mice aged, suggesting that NFATc1 expressing progenitors are no longer expressing NFATc1 after articular cartilage development. This is an important study since it provides valuable evidence to reveal the regulatory mechanism of articular chondrocyte differentiation. The data presented in this manuscript, in general, support their conclusion.

  (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

Specific deletion of Axin1 leads to activation of β-catenin/BMP signaling resulting in fibular hemimelia phenotype in mice

1. Rong Xie
2. Dan Yi
3. Daofu Zeng
4. Qiang Jie
5. Qinglin Kang
6. Zeng Zhang
7. Zhenlin Zhang
8. Guozhi Xiao
9. Lin Chen
10. Liping Tong
11. Di Chen

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This manuscript describes the mesenchymal cells expressed Axin1 as a key regulator for Wnt and BMP signaling pathway which is essential for lower limb development. Fibular hemimelia (FH) is a rare genetic disorder with unknown mechanisms. Their data clearly demonstrated that inhibition of β-catenin and BMP signaling genetically and pharmacologically could largely reverse fibular hemimelia phenotype in mice. In general, the manuscript is clear, well written, and concise, the study is well-structured and various techniques have been used to validate the data. It presents as a thorough study highlighting the importance of Axin1/ β-catenin/BMP signaling in FH development, and, furthermore, the interpretation of the results and the following conclusions are convincing.

  (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

A novel cis-regulatory element drives early expression of Nkx3.2 in the gnathostome primary jaw joint

1. Jake Leyhr
2. Laura Waldmann
3. Beata Filipek-Górniok
4. Hanqing Zhang
5. Amin Allalou
6. Tatjana Haitina

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  In this elegant study, Leyhr et al. identify the first potent nkx3.2 jaw joint enhancer, which they show to be deeply conserved across gnathostomes and likely to be absent from jawless fishes. The data support the hypothesis that this enhancer arose with the origin of hinged jaws during vertebrate evolution and is required for some aspects of early joint development in zebrafish. The work has important implications both for our basic understanding of enhancer function and evolution as well as potential genetic causes of craniofacial defects in humans.

  (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 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Integration of mouse ovary morphogenesis with developmental dynamics of the oviduct, ovarian ligaments, and rete ovarii

1. Jennifer McKey
2. Dilara N Anbarci
3. Corey Bunce
4. Alejandra E Ontiveros
5. Richard R Behringer
6. Blanche Capel

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This work describes mouse ovary morphogenesis from E14.5 to birth using recently developed methods combining CUBIC and iDISCO and optimized 3D imaging using light sheet microscopy. The manuscript is of interest to all developmental biologists as it will serve as a reference to whole embryo morphogenesis, in particular vertebrate ovary morphogenetic processes.

  (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

Osteoclast-mediated resorption primes the skeleton for successful integration during axolotl limb regeneration

1. Camilo Riquelme-Guzmán
2. Stephanie L Tsai
3. Karen Carreon Paz
4. Congtin Nguyen
5. David Oriola
6. Maritta Schuez
7. Jan Brugués
8. Joshua D Currie
9. Tatiana Sandoval-Guzmán

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This paper is of interest to skeletal biologists studying skeletal development and tissue regeneration. The study applies a well-established and elegant axolotl limb regeneration model and transgenic reporter strains to reveal the potential role of osteoclast-mediated resorption in limb regeneration.

  (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

Identifying novel regulators of placental development using time-series transcriptome data

1. Ha TH Vu
2. Haninder Kaur
3. Kelby R Kies
4. Rebekah R Starks
5. Geetu Tuteja

Reviewed by Review Commons

EZ Clear for simple, rapid, and robust mouse whole organ clearing

1. Chih-Wei Hsu
2. Juan Cerda
3. Jason M Kirk
4. Williamson D Turner
5. Tara L Rasmussen
6. Carlos P Flores Suarez
7. Mary E Dickinson
8. Joshua D Wythe

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The manuscript reports a new tissue clearing procedure that is faster (clearing within 48 hours), uses less hazardous chemicals, and importantly appears to result in less tissue volume change compared to other methods. The simple protocol adds further to the toolbox of tissue clearing methods and is one that is likely to be even more popular than many current methods, although the scope of tissue on which it can be used and rigorous comparisons to existing protocols have not been fully investigated.

  (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 #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Follicle cell contact maintains main body axis polarity in the Drosophila melanogaster oocyte

1. Ana Milas
2. Jorge de-Carvalho
3. Ivo A. Telley

Reviewed by Review Commons