Molecular Biology

RNA tertiary structure and conformational dynamics revealed by BASH MaP

1. Maxim Oleynikov
2. Samie R Jaffrey

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important work substantially advances our understanding of RNA structure analysis by introducing an innovative method that extends DMS probing to include guanosine residues, thereby enhancing our ability to detect complex tertiary interactions. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, with detailed analyses demonstrating the method's capacity to differentiate structural contexts and improve RNA structure predictions. This work will be of broad interest to RNA structural biology, biochemistry, and biophysics researchers.

Reviewed by eLife

UBR4 regulates a MetAP2-dependent Arg/N-degron pathway

1. Evan J. Morrison
2. Emma Horton
3. Olivia S. Rissland

Reviewed by Life Science Editors Foundation

Localized molecular chaperone synthesis maintains neuronal dendrite proteostasis

1. Célia Alecki
2. Javeria Rizwan
3. Phuong Le
4. Suleima Jacob-Tomas
5. Mario Fernandez-Comaduran
6. Morgane Verbrugghe
7. Jia Ming Stella Xu
8. Sandra Minotti
9. James Lynch
10. Tad Wu
11. Heather Durham
12. Gene W. Yeo
13. Maria Vera

Reviewed by Life Science Editors Foundation

Evidence for a role of human blood-borne factors in mediating age-associated changes in molecular circadian rhythms

1. Jessica E Schwarz
2. Antonijo Mrčela
3. Nicholas F Lahens
4. Yongjun Li
5. Cynthia Hsu
6. Gregory R Grant
7. Carsten Skarke
8. Shirley L Zhang
9. Amita Sehgal

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors tested the hypothesis that age-dependent factors in human sera affect the core circadian clock or its outputs in cultured fibroblasts, and they provide compelling evidence that genes involved in the cell cycle and transcription/translation remain rhythmic in both conditions, genes associated with oxidative phosphorylation and Alzheimer's Disease lose rhythmicity in the aged condition, while the expression of cycling genes associated with cholesterol biosynthesis increase in the cells entrained with old serum. Together, the findings suggest that yet to be identified age-dependent blood-borne factors affect circadian rhythms in the periphery. The paper provides fundamental insights and a possible explanation for previous observations showing that circadian gene expression in peripheral tissues tends to dampen or phase-shift with age.

Reviewed by eLife

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

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

1. João 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. Ryan Simkovsky
15. Stephen Mayfield

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

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 Saccharomyces 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