Developmental Biology

Identification of neurodevelopmental organization of the cell populations of juvenile Huntington’s disease using dorso-ventral HD organoids and HD mouse embryos

1. Karolina Świtońska-Kurkowska
2. Jakub Kubiś
3. Joanna Delimata-Raczek
4. Bart Krist
5. Magda Surdyka
6. Żaneta Kalinowska-Pośka
7. Piotr Piasecki
8. Luiza Handschuh
9. Jan Podkowiński
10. Magdalena Rakoczy
11. Anna Samelak-Czajka
12. Michael Hayden
13. Nicholas S Caron
14. Maciej Figiel

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript describes the generation of a fused dorsal-ventral organoid system to model interactions between the cortex and striatum to study the onset and progression of Huntington's disease (HD) and other neurodegenerative disorders. While this approach is valuable, further methodological and analytical work is needed to fully support the interpretations and claims of the authors. Incomplete evidence suggests choroid plexus (ChP) abnormalities form a significant component of HD pathogenesis.

Reviewed by eLife

Chromosomal Instability in Human Trophoblast Stem Cells and Placentas

1. Danyang Wang
2. Andrew Cearlock
3. Katherine Lane
4. Ian Jan
5. Rajiv McCoy
6. Min Yang

Reviewed by preLights

Branched actin polymerization drives invasive protrusion formation to promote myoblast fusion during skeletal muscle regeneration

1. Yue Lu
2. Tezin Walji
3. Pratima Pandey
4. Chuanli Zhou
5. Christa W Habela
6. Scott B Snapper
7. Rong Li
8. Elizabeth H Chen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a valuable finding regarding the role of Arp2/3 and the actin nucleators N-WASP and WAVE complexes in myoblast fusion. The data presented is convincing, but it is suggested to perform validation of the knock-down efficiency of the mouse model and making adjustments to some of the data interpretation. The work will be of interest to biologists studying skeletal muscle stem cell biology in the context of skeletal muscle regeneration.

Reviewed by eLife

An increase in reactive oxygen species underlies neonatal cerebellum repair

1. Anna Pakula
2. Salsabiel El Nagar
3. N. Sumru Bayin
4. Jens Bager Christensen
5. Daniel N. Stephen
6. Adam James Reid
7. Richard Koche
8. Alexandra L. Joyner

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important work substantially advances our understanding of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a regenerative signal during postnatal cerebellum repair by activating adaptive progenitor reprogramming. The evidence supporting the conclusions is generally compelling, although addressing reviewers' comments would further strengthen the study. This work will be of broad interest to biologists working on stem cells, neurodevelopment and regenerative medicine.

Reviewed by eLife

NR2F2 is required in the embryonic testis for Fetal Leydig Cell development

1. Aitana Perea-Gomez
2. Natividad Bellido-Carreras
3. Magali Dhellemmes
4. Furong Tang
5. Coralie Le Gallo
6. Marie-Christine Chaboissier

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study reveals a critical role of the transcription factor NR2F2 in mouse fetal Leydig cell (FLC) differentiation. With elegantly carried out experiments, the authors provide compelling evidence that NR2F2 helps to initiate the differentiation of certain interstitial cells into FLC until these cells mature into functional secretory cells that produce androgen and insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3). The particular importance of the work comes from the fact that NR2F2 affects FLCs without altering paracrine signals known to be involved in FLC differentiation. The work will be of interest to colleagues studying reproductive development in mammals including humans or the biological functions of the nuclear receptor family.

Reviewed by eLife

Decoding protein phosphorylation during oocyte meiotic divisions using phosphoproteomics

1. Leonid Peshkin
2. Enrico Maria Daldello
3. Elizabeth Van Itallie
4. Matthew Sonnett
5. Johannes Kreuzer
6. Wilhelm Haas
7. Marc W Kirschner
8. Catherine Jessus

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable paper describes a comprehensive quantitative phospho-proteomic analysis of Xenopus oocytes during meiosis. Using time-resolved proteomic analyses, the authors provide insights into changes in protein levels and phosphorylation states to an unprecedented depth, quality, and quantitative detail. The key findings are solid and offer a helpful resource for the scientific community.

Reviewed by eLife

Reconstruction of functional olfactory sensory tissue from embryonic nasal stem cells

1. Kazuya Suzuki
2. Fumi Wagai
3. Mototsugu Eiraku

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript presents a valuable study utilizing an in vitro organoid system to recapitulate the developmental process of the olfactory epithelium. The authors provided solid evidence indicating that a combination of niche factors can induce organoid development and give rise to multiple cell types. However, the calcium imaging part of the study could be seen as a limitation.

Reviewed by eLife

Volumetric trans-scale imaging of massive quantity of heterogeneous cell populations in centimeter-wide tissue and embryo

1. Taro Ichimura
2. Taishi Kakizuka
3. Yoshitsugu Taniguchi
4. Satoshi Ejima
5. Yuki Sato
6. Keiko Itano
7. Kaoru Seiriki
8. Hitoshi Hashimoto
9. Ko Sugawara
10. Hiroya Itoga
11. Shuichi Onami
12. Takeharu Nagai

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The important study established a large-scale objective and integrated multiple optical microscopy systems to demonstrate their potential for long-term imaging of the developmental process. The convincing imaging data cover a wide range of biological applications, such as organoids, mouse brains, and quail embryos, but enhancing image quality can further enhance the method's effectiveness. This work will appeal to biologists and imaging technologists focused on long-term imaging of large fields.

Reviewed by eLife

Mitochondrial metabolism in Drosophila macrophage-like cells regulates body growth via modulation of cytokine and insulin signaling

1. Shrivani Sriskanthadevan-Pirahas
2. Abdul Qadeer Tinwala
3. Michael J Turingan
4. Shahoon Khan
5. Savraj S Grewal

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental work demonstrates that compartmentalized cellular metabolism is a dominant input into cell size control in a variety of mammalian cell types and in Drosophila. The authors show that increased pyruvate import into the mitochondria in liver-like cells and in primary hepatocytes drives gluconeogenesis but reduces cellular amino acid production, suppressing protein synthesis. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, with a variety of genetic and pharmacologic assays rigorously testing each step of the proposed mechanism. This work will be of interest to cell biologists, physiologists, and researchers interested in cell metabolism, and is significant because stem cells and many cancers exhibit metabolic rewiring of pyruvate metabolism.

Reviewed by eLife

Naa10 regulates hippocampal neurite outgrowth via Btbd3 N-α-acetylation-mediated actin dynamics

1. Chien-Te Chou
2. Ming-Lun Kang
3. Chen-Cheng Lee
4. Pang-Hung Hsu
5. Li-Jung Juan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study suggests that Naa10, an N-α-acetyltransferase with known mutations that disrupt neurodevelopment, acetylates Btbd3, which has been implicated in neurite outgrowth and obsessive-compulsive disorder, in a manner that regulates F-actin dynamics to facilitate neurite outgrowth. While the study provides promising insights and biochemical, co-immunoprecipitation, and proteomic data that enhance our understanding of protein N-acetylation in neuronal development, the evidence supporting larger claims is incomplete. Nonetheless, the implications of these findings are noteworthy, particularly regarding neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions tied to altered expression of Naa10 or Btbd3.

Reviewed by eLife