Molecular Biology

Human DCP1 is crucial for mRNA decapping and possesses paralog-specific gene regulating functions

1. Ting-Wen Chen
2. Hsiao-Wei Liao
3. Michelle Noble
4. Jing-Yi Siao
5. Yu-Hsuan Cheng
6. Wei-Chung Chiang
7. Yi-Tzu Lo
8. Chung-Te Chang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study attempts to understand the functional roles of the human DCP1 paralogs in regulating RNA decay by DCP2. Using a combination of cellular-based assays and in vitro assays, the authors conclude that DCP1a/b plays a role in regulating DCP2 activity. While this revised version presents some new and interesting observations on human DCP1, the underlying data to support its claims remain incomplete. Overall, these results will be useful to the RNA community.

Reviewed by eLife

ORMDL3 restrains type-I interferon signaling and anti-tumor immunity by promoting RIG-I degradation

1. Qi Zeng
2. Chen Yao
3. Shimeng Zhang
4. Yizhi Mao
5. Jing Wang
6. Ziyang Wang
7. Chunjie Sheng
8. Shuai Chen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The research has the potential to be a valuable addition to the field, and the conclusions are solid, but there is a need for more reproducible data to address existing discrepancies and enhance its impact.

Reviewed by eLife

Description of a novel extremophile green algae, Chlamydomonas pacifica, and its potential as a biotechnology host

1. Joao Vitor Dutra Molino
2. Aaron Oliver
3. Harish Sethuram
4. Kalisa Kang
5. Barbara Saucedo
6. Crisandra Jade Diaz
7. Abhishek Gupta
8. Lee Jong Jen
9. Yasin Torres-tiji
10. Nora Hidasi
11. Amr Badary
12. Hunter Jenkins
13. Francis J. Fields
14. Stephen Mayfield

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Structure of human PIEZO1 and its slow inactivating channelopathy mutants

1. Yuanyue Shan
2. Xinyi Guo
3. Mengmeng Zhang
4. Meiyu Chen
5. Ying Li
6. Mingfeng Zhang
7. Duanqing Pei

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful manuscript shows a set of interesting data including the first cryo-EM structures of human PIEZO1 as well as structures of disease-related mutants in complex with the regulatory subunit MDFIC, which generate different inactivation phenotypes. The molecular basis of PIEZO channel inactivation is of great interest due to its association with several pathologies. This manuscript provides some structural insights that may help to ultimately build a molecular picture of PIEZO channel inactivation. While the structures are of use and clear conformational differences can be seen in the presence of the auxiliary subunit MDFIC, the strength of the evidence supporting the conclusions of the paper, especially the proposed role for pore lipids in inactivation, is incomplete and there is a lack of data to support them.

Reviewed by eLife

Nuclear Translocation of SIRT4 Mediates Deacetylation of U2AF2 to Modulate Renal Fibrosis Through Alternative Splicing-mediated Upregulation of CCN2

1. Guangyan Yang
2. Jiaqing Xiang
3. Xiaoxiao Yang
4. Xiaomai Liu
5. Yanchun Li
6. Lixing Li
7. Lin Kang
8. Zhen Liang
9. Shu Yang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study demonstrates a novel role for SIRT4; a mitochondrial deacetylase, shown to translocate into nuclei where it regulates RNA alternative splicing by modulating U2AF2 and the gene expression of CCN2 in tubular cells in response to TGF-β. This fundamental work substantially advances our understanding of kidney fibrosis development and offers a potential therapeutic approach. The evidence supporting the conclusions of a SIRT4-U2AF2-CCN2 axis activated by TGF-β is compelling and adds a new layer of complexity to the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease.

Reviewed by eLife

Interaction of GAT1 with sodium ions: from efficient recruitment to stabilisation of substrate and conformation

1. Erika Lazzarin
2. Ralph Gradisch
3. Sophie MC Skopec
4. Leticia Alves da Silva
5. Chiara Sebastianelli-Schoditsch
6. Dániel Szöllősi
7. Julian Maier
8. Sonja Sucic
9. Marko Roblek
10. Baruch I Kanner
11. Harald H Sitte
12. Thomas Stockner

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The study elucidates a detailed molecular mechanism of the initial stages of transport in the medically relevant Na+-coupled GABA neurotransmitter transporter GAT1 and thus generates important new insights into this protein family. In particular, it presents convincing evidence for the presence of a "staging binding site" that locally concentrates Na+ ions to increase transport activity, whilst solid evidence for how Na+ binding influences larger scale dynamics.

Reviewed by eLife

The RNA binding protein HNRNPA2B1 regulates RNA abundance and motor protein activity in neurites

1. Joelle Lo
2. Katherine F. Vaeth
3. Gurprit Bhardwaj
4. Neelanjan Mukherjee
5. Holger A. Russ
6. Jeffrey K. Moore
7. J. Matthew Taliaferro

Reviewed by preLights

A comparative study of the cryo-EM structures of S. cerevisiae and human anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C)

1. Ester Vazquez-Fernandez
2. Jing Yang
3. Ziguo Zhang
4. Antonina E Andreeva
5. Paul Emsley
6. David Barford

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study provides compelling data that defines the structure of the S. cerevisiae APC/C. The structure reveals overall conservation of its mechanism of action compared to the human APC/C but some important differences that indicate that activation by co-activator binding and phosphorylation are not identical to the human APC/C. Thus this study will be of considerable value to the field.

Reviewed by eLife

Chromatin endogenous cleavage provides a global view of RNA polymerase II transcription kinetics

1. Jake VanBelzen
2. Bennet Sakelaris
3. Donna Garvey Brickner
4. Nikita Marcou
5. Hermann Riecke
6. Niall Mangan
7. Jason H Brickner

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable paper uses the ChEC-seq2 technique to investigate RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) binding patterns in yeast and demonstrates that this technique is a complementary method for investigating transcription mechanisms, especially slow steps at the initiation and termination regions. The authors use ChEC-seq2 data to investigate RNAPII kinetics and obtain solid data providing new insights into transcription regulation. This study highlights the importance of careful methodological comparisons in understanding RNAPII dynamics.

Reviewed by eLife

LncRNA Snhg3 Aggravates Hepatic Steatosis via PPARγ Signaling

1. Xianghong Xie
2. Mingyue Gao
3. Wei Zhao
4. Chunmei Li
5. Weihong Zhang
6. Jiahui Yang
7. Yinliang Zhang
8. Enhui Chen
9. Yanfang Guo
10. Zeyu Guo
11. Minglong Zhang
12. Ebenezeri Erasto Ngowi
13. Heping Wang
14. Xiaoman Wang
15. Yinghan Zhu
16. Yiting Wang
17. Xiaolu Li
18. Hong Yao
19. Li Yan
20. Fude Fang
21. Meixia Li
22. Aijun Qiao
23. Xiaojun Liu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study provides useful evidence substantiating a role for long noncoding RNAs in liver metabolism and organismal physiology. Using murine knockout and knock-in models, the authors invoke a previously unidentified role for the lncRNA Snhg3 in fatty liver. The revised manuscript has improved and most studies are backed by solid evidence but the study was found to be incomplete and will require future studies to substantiate some of the claims.

Reviewed by eLife