eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. G protein-coupled receptor diversity and evolution in the closest living relatives of Metazoa

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Alain Garcia De Las Bayonas
   2. Nicole King

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study fills an gap in our knowledge of the evolution of GPCRs in holozoans, as well as the phylogeny of associated signaling pathway components such as G proteins, GRKs, and RIC8 proteins. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, with the analysis of extensive new genomic data from choanoflagellates and other non-animal holozoans. Overall, the study is thorough and well-executed. It will be a resource for researchers interested in both the comparative genomics of multicellularity and GPCR biology more broadly, especially given the importance of GPCRs as highly druggable targets.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Genetic compensation in podocalyxin-like mutants during zebrafish liver development

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Alexis N Ross
   2. Natalie M Miscik
   3. Sharanya Maanasi Kalasekar
   4. James D Harris
   5. Mimi Tran
   6. Aavrati Saxena
   7. Steven Andrew Baker
   8. Kimberley Jane Evason

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The manuscript by Ross, Miscik, and others describes an intriguing series of observations made when investigating the requirement for podxl during hepatic development in zebrafish. Understanding how genetic compensation pathways are involved in gene function is an important question. However, there is incomplete evidence provided in the manuscript at this point to conclude that discrepancies between observed phenotypes are due to genetic compensation.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Insights from aquaporin structures into drug-resistant sleeping sickness

   This article has 23 authors:

   1. Modestas Matusevicius
   2. Robin A Corey
   3. Marcos Gragera
   4. Keitaro Yamashita
   5. Teresa Sprenger
   6. Marzuq A Ungogo
   7. James N Blaza
   8. Pablo Castro-Hartmann
   9. Dimitri Y Chirgadze
   10. Sundeep Chaitanya Vedithi
   11. Pavel Afanasyev
   12. Roberto Melero
   13. Rangana Warshamanage
   14. Anastasiia Gusach
   15. Jose Maria Carazo
   16. Mark Carrington
   17. Tom L Blundell
   18. Garib Murshudov
   19. Phillip Stansfeld
   20. Mark Sansom
   21. Harry P de Koning
   22. Christopher G Tate
   23. Simone N Weyand

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this important study, the authors set out to determine the molecular interactions between the AQP2 from Trypanosoma brucei (TbAQP2) and the trypanocidal drugs pentamidine and melarsoprol in order to clarify the origins of clinically observed drug resistance and facilitate future drug design. Using cryo-EM, molecular dynamics simulations, and lysis assays, the authors present a solid theory for how drug resistance mutations in TbAQP2 prevent drug uptake. Overall, even though a few methodological issues still need minor clarification, this study will be of interest to those working on aquaporins and the development of drugs targeting aquaporins.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Glial betaPix is essential for blood vessel integrity in the zebrafish brain

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. ShihChing Chiu
   2. Qinchao Zhou
   3. Chenglu Xiao
   4. Linlu Bai
   5. Xiaojun Zhu
   6. Wanqiu Ding
   7. Jing-Wei Xiong

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable manuscript presents findings supported by solid data to identify a surprising glia-exclusive function for betapix in vascular integrity and angiogenesis. The manuscript also describes the optimisation of a modified CRISPR-based Zwitch approach to generate conditional knockouts in zebrafish.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Molecular Landscape of the Mouse Adrenal Gland and Adjacent Adipose by Spatial Transcriptomics

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Małgorzata Blatkiewicz
   2. Szymon Hryhorowicz
   3. Marta Szyszka
   4. Joanna Suszyńska-Zajczyk
   5. Andrzej Pławski
   6. Adam Plewiński
   7. Andrea Porzionato
   8. Ludwik K. Malendowicz
   9. Marcin Rucinski

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This useful study provides a spatial transcriptomic analysis of the mouse adrenal gland that could have implications for future research and applications. The authors present solid results that allow the dissection of the cell signalling pathways and cellular composition of different zones of the adrenal glands in the mouse model; they propose new zone-specific gene markers and specific intra- and inter-zonal signaling pathways based on receptor-ligand expression patterns. Their web tool is user-friendly and will be helpful for adrenal scientists; however, the validation of crucial results of the large dataset is necessary. There are also several contradictory results/interpretations, and the opportunity to dissect the sexually dimorphic gene expression pattern and mouse-human interspecies differences is a missed opportunity.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. SIRT2 protects against Japanese encephalitis virus infection in mice

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Perumal Arumugam Desingu
   2. Lavanya Dindi
   3. Krishnega Murugasamy
   4. Ankit Kumar Tamta
   5. Venketsubbu Ramasubbu
   6. Sukanya Raghu
   7. Amarjeet Shrama
   8. Raju S Rajmani
   9. Nagalingam R Sundaresan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study explores the role of SIRT2 in regulating Japanese encephalitis virus replication and disease progression in rodent models. The findings presented are novel as sirtuins are known for their roles in aging, metabolism, and cell survival, but have not been studied in the context of viral infections until recently. The evidence supporting the claims is solid, although additional experiments to further characterize the clinical outcomes and directly test the link between acetylated NF-kB and SIRT2 expression would have strengthened the study. The work will be of interest to biologists studying viruses, sirtuins, and inflammation.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Doubling dolutegravir dosage reduces the viral reservoir in ART-treated people with HIV

   This article has 16 authors:

   1. Céline Fombellida-Lopez
   2. Aurelija Valaitienė
   3. Lee Winchester
   4. Nathalie Maes
   5. Patricia Dellot
   6. Céline Vanwinge
   7. Aurélie Ladang
   8. Etienne Cavalier
   9. Fabrice Susin
   10. Dolores Vaira
   11. Marie-Pierre Hayette
   12. Catherine Reenaers
   13. Michel Moutschen
   14. Courtney V Fletcher
   15. Alexander O Pasternak
   16. Gilles Darcis

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study tested whether several months of dolutegravir intensification alters the size of the HIV reservoir as well as immune activation in individuals already on suppressive ART. While the general study approach is appropriate and the paper is well written, the evidence supporting the claims of the authors is incomplete. The title of the paper is only partially supported by the data, based on specific issues with the study design and analysis plan highlighted by Reviewer 1. Specifically, the primary study outcomes were not clearly described a priori, the plausibility of a biologic effect is uncertain based on lack of a consistent effect across participants, and sample size is small. Given a possible observed partial effect and relevant hypothesis, this approach warrants study in a larger trial.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Species biology and demographic history determines species vulnerability to climate change in tropical island endemic birds

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Ratnesh Karjee
   2. Vikram Iyer
   3. Durbadal Chatterjee
   4. Rajasri Ray
   5. Kritika M Garg
   6. Balaji Chattopadhyay

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Tropical single-island endemic bird populations are particularly vulnerable to climate change. The authors investigate genetic evidence of how such species dealt with climate changes in the past as a possible predictor for how they will respond to change in the future, which could provide an important example for the fields of conservation genetics and island biogeography. The authors' integration of genomics and habitat modeling is commendable, but we find that the support for their conclusions is incomplete: at times, the results presented appear to contradict each other, the authors do not fully account for key variables, and the limited taxonomic scope may cause problematic biases for the conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Cancer cells differentially modulate mitochondrial respiration to alter redox state and enable biomass synthesis in nutrient-limited environments

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Sarah M Chang
   2. Muhammad Bin Munim
   3. Sonia E Trojan
   4. Anna Shevzov-Zebrun
   5. Keene L Abbott
   6. Matthew G Vander Heiden

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents valuable findings on the relationship between nutrient availability and NAD/NADH levels, which in turn regulate biomass production in cancer cells. The authors provide solid evidence to support their claims, offering insight into why it is difficult to predict which nutrients limit cancer cell growth: both cell type and nutrient availability together determine the oxidative capacity that constrains the synthesis of various metabolic intermediates. The manuscript will be of interest to researchers working in cancer and cell metabolism.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Epidermal Resident Memory T Cell Fitness Requires Antigen Encounter in the Skin

    This article has 17 authors:

    1. Eric S Weiss
    2. Toshiro Hirai
    3. Haiyue Li
    4. Andrew Liu
    5. Shannon Baker
    6. Ian Magill
    7. Jacob Gillis
    8. Youran R Zhang
    9. Torben Ramcke
    10. Kazuo Kurihara
    11. The ImmGen Consortium OpenSource T cell Project
    12. David Masopust
    13. Niroshana Anandasabapathy
    14. Harinder Singh
    15. David Zemmour
    16. Laura K Mackay
    17. Daniel H Kaplan

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      Weiss et al. provide important new insights and convincing evidence to further our mechanistic understanding of how antigen presentation shapes skin persistence of CD8+ TRM. Using a mouse model for inducible genetic ablation of transforming growth factor beta receptor 3 (TGFBR3) in CD8+ T cells, they demonstrate TGFBR3's role in regulating CD8+ TRM persistence in skin. Furthermore, they show that the strength of T cell receptor (TCR) engagement upon initial CD8+ TRM skin seeding has a positive influence on subsequent TRM expansion following a secondary antigen-reencounter. Together, these mechanisms add to our understanding of how the skin CD8+ T cell repertoire is dynamically responsive to topical antigen.

    Reviewed by eLife