eLife assessment

This important study addresses mechanisms of feedback inhibition between planar cell polarity (PCP) protein complexes during convergent extension movements in Xenopus embryos. The authors propose an interesting model, in which non-canonical Wnt ligand stimulates transition of Dishevelled from its complex with Vangl to Frizzled, with essential roles of Vangl, Prickle and Ror in this process. The main functional observations supporting this model are convincing, but the immunoprecipitation data are incomplete and would benefit from additional clarification. With more rigorous approaches, this work will likely be of broad interest to cell and developmental biologists.

eLife assessment

This valuable study reports on the packing of molecules in cellular compartments, such as actin-based protrusions. The study provides solid evidence for parameters that enable the building of a biophysical model of filopodia, which is required to gain a complete understanding of these important actin-based structures. Some areas of the manuscript require further clarification.

eLife assessment

This useful paper reports on two simple methods for improving the efficiency of prime editing, an important gene editing technique. In combination with published modifications, the strategies described in this study may lead to significant improvements in editing efficiencies. The data are solid, and the methods will be of broad interest to anyone using gene editing.

eLife assessment

In this manuscript by Xiong L et al., through TLR2, the authors have uncovered an important link between innate immune signaling and hair regeneration. The authors provide convincing evidence supporting the critical roles of TLR2 in sensing CEP levels in hair follicles, counteracting the action of BMP signaling, and facilitating the activation of HFSCs during the hair cycle and wound repair. Importantly, the authors also propose that decreased CEP production and TLR2 expression might be factors contributing to the decreased hair regeneration associated with age-related and obesity-related hair thinning and hair loss phenotypes.

eLife assessment

This important study advances our understanding of early Cambrian cnidarian paleoecology and suggests that the reconstructed ancestral feeding and respiration mechanisms predate jet-propelled swimming utilized by modern jellyfish. The work combines solid evidence of fluid and structural mechanics modeling, simulating for the first time the feeding and respiratory capacities in a microfossil (Quadrapyrgites), which in turn opens new possibilities using this approach for paleontological research. Assuming that the prior interpretations and assumptions concerning the modeled organism's soft part and skeletal anatomy are correct, the hypotheses that (1) the organism could alternately contract and expand the oral region and (2) such movement increased feeding efficiency seem plausible.

eLife assessment

This important study combines a range of advanced ultrastructural imaging approaches to define the unusual endosomal system of African trypanosomes. Compelling images show that instead of a distinct set of compartments, the endosome of these protists comprises a continuous system of membranes with functionally distinct subdomains as defined by canonical markers of early, late and recycling endosomes. The findings suggest that the endocytic system of bloodstream stages has evolved to facilitate the extraordinarily high rates of membrane turnover needed to remove immune complexes and survive in the blood, which is of interest to anyone studying infectious diseases.

eLife assessment

This is an important biophysical study combining native mass spectrometry with mutant cycles to estimate the thermodynamic components of lipid A binding to the ABC transporter MsbA. Binding energies for lipid-protein interactions are proposed, but the evidence is currently incomplete as they rely on a number of technical and theoretical assumptions, mostly related to multiple lipid binding sites in the protein.

eLife assessment

The biogenesis of outer membrane proteins in Gram-negative bacteria is still not fully understood, particularly substrate recognition and insertion by beta-assembly machinery. This work reports important results identifying a new amino acid sequence motif (i.e., "internal beta-signal") on outer membrane proteins recognized by this machinery. The authors carried out rigorous biochemical approaches, providing convincing evidence to support their conclusions.

eLife assessment

In this manuscript, the authors tested the hypothesis that Aβ42 toxicity arises from its proven affinity for γ-secretases. The authors provide useful findings, however, the results are incomplete and do not fit physiological conditions in the brain. The data will be of interest to all scientists working on neurodegenerative diseases.

eLife assessment

This study examines the role of interaction between the PAS domain and the Cyclic Nucleotide-Binding Homology Domain (CNBHD) in voltage-dependent gating of EAG channels. The authors make the extraordinary claim that they have identified a hidden open state, thus providing a window for observing early conformational transitions associated with channel gating. Although the data are intriguing, the evidence supporting the conclusions is incomplete, and the experimental conditions used to propose the channel gating mechanism need to be revisited. With sufficiently strong experimental support, this work could become important for understanding the gating mechanisms of the KCNH family and would appeal to biophysicists interested in ion channels and physiologists interested in cancer biology.