Molecular Biology

The zinc-finger transcription factor Sfp1 imprints specific classes of mRNAs and links their synthesis to cytoplasmic decay

1. Moran Kelbert
2. Antonio Jordán-Pla
3. Lola de Miguel-Jiménez
4. José García-Martínez
5. Michael Selitrennik
6. Adi Guterman
7. Noa Henig
8. Sander Granneman
9. José E Pérez-Ortín
10. Sebastián Chávez
11. Mordechai Choder

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study reports that a transcription factor stimulating mRNA synthesis can stabilize its target transcripts. The convincing results demonstrate, with multiple independent approaches, co-transcriptional binding, stabilization of a family of mRNAs, and cytoplasmic activities of the transcription factor Sfp1. The results lead to the conclusion that the co-transcriptional association of Sfp1 with specific transcripts is a critical step in the stabilization of such transcripts in the cytoplasm.

Reviewed by eLife

Productive mRNA Chromatin Escape is Promoted by PRMT5 Methylation of SNRPB

1. Joseph D. DeAngelo
2. Maxim I. Maron
3. Jacob S. Roth
4. Aliza M. Silverstein
5. Varun Gupta
6. Stephanie Stransky
7. Joel Basken
8. Joey Azofeifa
9. Simone Sidoli
10. Matthew J. Gamble
11. David Shechter

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Non-canonical activation of IRE1α during Candida albicans infection enhances macrophage fungicidal activity

1. Michael J. McFadden
2. Mack B. Reynolds
3. Britton C Michmerhuizen
4. Einar B. Ólafsson
5. Faith M. Anderson
6. Tracey L. Schultz
7. Mary X.D. O’Riordan
8. Teresa R. O’Meara

Reviewed by Review Commons

PRC2 Promotes Canalisation During Endodermal Differentiation

1. Jurriaan J. Hölzenspies
2. Dipta Sengupta
3. Wendy A. Bickmore
4. Joshua M. Brickman
5. Robert S. Illingworth

Reviewed by Review Commons

DYRK1A Interacts with the Tuberous Sclerosis Complex and Promotes mTORC1 Activity

1. Pinhua Wang
2. Sunayana Sarkar
3. Menghuan Zhang
4. Tingting Xiao
5. Fenhua Kong
6. Zhe Zhang
7. Deepa Balasubramanian
8. Nandan Jayaram
9. Sayantan Datta
10. Ruyu He
11. Ping Wu
12. Peng Chao
13. Ying Zhang
14. Michael P Washburn
15. Laurence Florens
16. Sonal Nagarkar-Jaiswal
17. Manish Jaiswal
18. Man Mohan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This fundamental study identifies the kinase DYRK1A as a novel component of the tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) protein complex, which is central to cellular growth and cell size. The findings presented here have broad implications for how cell size and growth is regulated. The methodology and analysis are convincing and support the findings.

Reviewed by eLife

High-fat and high-sucrose diet-induced hypothalamic inflammation shows sex specific features in mice

1. Gabriela C. De Paula
2. Rui F. Simões
3. Alba M. Garcia-Serrano
4. João M. N. Duarte

Reviewed by preLights

The Arthropoda-specific Tramtrack group BTB protein domains use previously unknown interface to form hexamers

1. Artem N Bonchuk
2. Konstantin I Balagurov
3. Rozbeh Baradaran
4. Konstantin M Boyko
5. Nikolai N Sluchanko
6. Anastasia M Khrustaleva
7. Anna D Burtseva
8. Olga V Arkova
9. Karina K Khalisova
10. Vladimir O Popov
11. Andreas Naschberger
12. Pavel G Georgiev

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important work offers an experimental structural characterization of the Tramtrack-like BTB/POZ domains in insects, revealing that these domains form stable hexameric assemblies. The structural evidence is convincing, and validated by fold prediction and evolutionary pathway analyses. This paper would be of interest to structural and evolutionary biologists.

Reviewed by eLife

Transcriptional inhibition after irradiation occurs preferentially at highly expressed genes in a manner dependent on cell cycle progression

1. Zulong Chen
2. Xin Wang
3. Xinlei Gao
4. Nina Arslanovic
5. Kaifu Chen
6. Jessica K Tyler

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important work describes a compelling analysis of DNA damage-induced changes in nascent RNA transcripts, and a genome-wide screening effort to identify the responsible proteins. A significant discovery is the inability of arrested cells to undergo DNA damage-induced gene silencing, which, is attributed to an inability to mediate ATM-induced transcriptional repression. This work will be of general interest to the DNA damage, repair, and transcription fields, with a potential impact on the cancer field.

Reviewed by eLife

Mediator kinase inhibition suppresses hyperactive interferon signaling in Down syndrome

1. Kira Cozzolino
2. Lynn Sanford
3. Samuel Hunter
4. Kayla Molison
5. Benjamin Erickson
6. Taylor Jones
7. Meaghan CS Courvan
8. Deepa Ajit
9. Matthew D Galbraith
10. Joaquin M Espinosa
11. David L Bentley
12. Mary A Allen
13. Robin D Dowell
14. Dylan J Taatjes

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This is a valuable study providing solid evidence that the Mediator kinase module mediates an elevated inflammatory response, manifested by heightened cytokine levels, associated with Downs syndrome (DS) via transcriptional changes impacting cell signaling and metabolism, which has significance for the treatment of DS and other chronic inflammatory conditions. Particular strengths of the study include the combined experimental approaches of transcriptomics, untargeted metabolomics, cytokine screens, and the use of sibling-matched cell lines (trisomy 21 vs disomy 21) from various donors. Less certain is that the Mediator kinase plays a meaningful role in regulating mRNA splicing. Further evidence that nuclear receptors are activated by changes in lipid levels and that mitochondrial function is substantially reduced on Mediator kinase inhibition would strengthen the work.

Reviewed by eLife

An anciently diverged family of RNA binding proteins maintain correct splicing of a class of ultra-long exons through cryptic splice site repression

1. Chileleko Siachisumo
2. Sara Luzzi
3. Saad Aldalaqan
4. Gerald Hysenaj
5. Caroline Dalgliesh
6. Kathleen Cheung
7. Matthew R Gazzara
8. Ivaylo D Yonchev
9. Katherine James
10. Mahsa Kheirollahi Chadegani
11. Ingrid E Ehrmann
12. Graham R Smith
13. Simon J Cockell
14. Jennifer Munkley
15. Stuart A Wilson
16. Yoseph Barash
17. David J Elliott

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important paper addresses the process by which cryptic splice sites that occur randomly in exons are ignored by the splicing machinery. Integrating state-of- the-art genome-wide approaches such as CLIP-seq with the study of individual examples, this study convincingly implicates members of RBMX family of RNA binding proteins in such cryptic splice site suppression and showcases its importance for the fidelity of expression of genes with very large exons.

Reviewed by eLife