Neuroscience

Knockdown of PHOX2B in the retrotrapezoid nucleus reduces the central CO2 chemoreflex in rats

1. Silvia Cardani
2. Tara A Janes
3. William Betzner
4. Silvia Pagliardini

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study utilizes a viral-mediated short hairpin RNA (shRNA) approach to investigate in a novel way the role of the wild-type PHOX2B transcription factor expressed in critical chemosensory neurons in the brainstem retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) region for maintaining normal CO2 chemoreflex control of breathing in adult rats. The convincing results show blunted ventilation during elevated inhaled CO2 (hypercapnia) with knockdown of PHOX2B, accompanied by a reduced expression of Gpr4 and Task2 mRNA for the proposed RTN neuron proton sensor proteins GPR4 and TASK2. These results indicate that maintained expression of wild-type PHOX2B affects respiratory control in adult animals, complementing previous studies showing that PHOX2B-expressing RTN neurons may be critical for chemosensory control throughout the lifespan, and with implications for neurological disorders involving the RTN, which will be of interest to neuroscientists studying respiratory neurobiology as well as the neurodevelopmental control of motor behavior.

Reviewed by eLife

Deciphering the genetic code of neuronal type connectivity through bilinear modeling

1. Mu Qiao

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This is an important computational study that applies the machine learning method of bilinear modeling to the problem of relating gene expression to connectivity. Specifically, the author attempts to use transcriptomic data from mouse retinal neurons to predict their known connectivity with promising results. On revision, the approach was tested against a second data set from C. elegans. A limited number of genes studied in this second dataset may have resulted in performance that matched but did not exceed prior models. However, taken together, the results were felt to provide solid evidence for the value of the approach.

Reviewed by eLife

Synergistic olfactory processing for social plasticity in desert locusts

1. Inga Petelski
2. Yannick Günzel
3. Sercan Sayin
4. Susanne Kraus
5. Einat Couzin-Fuchs

Reviewed by preLights

A Pvr–AP-1–Mmp1 signaling pathway is activated in astrocytes upon traumatic brain injury

1. Tingting Li
2. Wenwen Shi
3. Margaret S Ho
4. Yong Q Zhang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study represents a valuable finding on the neuron-glia communication and glial responses to traumatic brain injury (TBI). The data supporting the authors' conclusions on TBI analysis, RNA-seq on FACS sorted astrocytes, genetic analyses on Pvr-JNK/MMP1 are solid. However, cellular aspects of the response to TBI, statistical analysis, and molecular links between Pvr-AP1 are incomplete, which could be further strengthened in the future by more rigorous analyses.

Reviewed by eLife

Pharyngeal mechanosensory neurons control food swallow in Drosophila melanogaster

1. Jierui Qin
2. Tingting Yang
3. Kexin Li
4. Ting Liu
5. Wei Zhang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable study investigates the role of mechanosensory feedback during swallowing in adult Drosophila. The authors provide convincing evidence that three mechanotransduction channel genes are required for ingestion rhythms and localize the role of these genes to a specific subpopulation of pharyngeal mechanosensory neurons. However, there is incomplete evidence to support the conclusions that these sensory neurons are necessary for swallowing, respond to stretch during swallowing, and connect to the motor neurons that control swallowing. This work may be of interest to neuroscientists interested in motor control of feeding behavior.

Reviewed by eLife

Large-scale deorphanization of Nematostella vectensis neuropeptide G protein-coupled receptors supports the independent expansion of bilaterian and cnidarian peptidergic systems

1. Daniel Thiel
2. Luis Alfonso Yañez Guerra
3. Amanda Kieswetter
4. Alison G Cole
5. Liesbet Temmerman
6. Ulrich Technau
7. Gáspár Jékely

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This work identifies cnidarian neuropeptides and pairs them to their GPCR, then shows that neuropeptide signaling systems have evolved and diversified independently in cnidarians and bilaterians. Neuropeptide-receptor partners were experimentally identified using established and widely used methodologies including single cell mapping, providing compelling evidence for the conclusions of the paper. This impressive accomplishment provides fundamental new insights into the evolution of neuropeptide signaling systems and will be of broad interest to neurobiologists and evolution of development researchers.

Reviewed by eLife

Neuron-specific RNA-sequencing reveals different responses in peripheral neurons after nerve injury

1. Sara Bolívar
2. Elisenda Sanz
3. David Ovelleiro
4. Douglas W Zochodne
5. Esther Udina

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  The valuable findings in this study show that subpopulations of peripheral sensory neurons display different capacities for regeneration after a similar injury. Nociceptor neurons have greater regeneration over mechanoreceptor, proprioceptors and motor neurons. This differential responsiveness of neuronal subtypes was traced to activation of different transcriptional programs, which were carefully analyzed and quantitated, resulting in solid evidence for the conclusions.

Reviewed by eLife

Conditional chemoconnectomics (cCCTomics) as a strategy for efficient and conditional targeting of chemical transmission

1. Renbo Mao
2. Jianjun Yu
3. Bowen Deng
4. Xihuimin Dai
5. Yuyao Du
6. Sujie Du
7. Wenxia Zhang
8. Yi Rao

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This paper expands the genetic toolset that was previously developed by the Rao lab to introduce the conditional downregulation of neurotransmission components in Drosophila. As a proof of principle, the authors tested their new collection and provide evidence of the contribution of CNMamide (a neuropeptide) to the temporal control of locomotor activity patterns. These are overall important findings supported by compelling evidence.

Reviewed by eLife

Similar excitability through different sodium channels and implications for the analgesic efficacy of selective drugs

1. Yu-Feng Xie
2. Jane Yang
3. Stéphanie Ratté
4. Steven A Prescott

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This fundamental study provides an unprecedented understanding of the roles of different combinations of NaV channel isoforms in nociceptors' excitability, with relevance for the design of better strategies targeting NaV channels to treat pain. Although the experimental combination of electrophysiological, modeling, imaging, molecular biology, and behavioral data is convincing and supports the major claims of the work, some results remain inconclusive and need to be strengthened by further evidence. The work may be of broad interest to scientists working on pain, drug development, neuronal excitability, and ion channels.

Reviewed by eLife

Reconfigurations of cortical manifold structure during reward-based motor learning

1. Qasem Nick
2. Daniel J Gale
3. Corson Areshenkoff
4. Anouk De Brouwer
5. Joseph Nashed
6. Jeffrey Wammes
7. Tianyao Zhu
8. Randy Flanagan
9. Jonny Smallwood
10. Jason Gallivan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable study uses convincing state-of-the-art neuroimaging analyses to characterise whole-brain networks during reward-based motor learning. This work motivates future research to dissociate why the observed changes in neural connectivity occur and how they support reward-based motor learning. The study is highly relevant for researchers at the intersection of decision-making and sensorimotor learning.

Reviewed by eLife