eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. SETD6-mediated methylation of PPARγ establishes a transcriptional feedback circuit promoting lipid accumulation in liver-derived cells

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Noa Nashnaz
   2. Dana Goldberg
   3. Maayan Abramov
   4. Anand Chopra
   5. Habib Muallem
   6. Yulia Haim
   7. Michal Feldman
   8. Assaf Rudich
   9. Dan Levy

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This is an important study uncovering a new role of the SETD6-PPARγ axis in the regulation of hepatic lipid metabolism. The data convincingly demonstrate that methylation of PPARγ by SETD6 plays a key role in this process, linking lysine methylation to transcriptional control of lipid storage genes.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Platelets promote acute liver injury via extracellular vesicles-mediated Aldolase A

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Ruoxue Yang
   2. Jinghua Liu
   3. Kai Fu
   4. Ting Wan
   5. Yahui Li
   6. Can Shen
   7. Ling Yang
   8. Keqin Wang
   9. Zhao Shan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this useful manuscript, Yang et al attempt to show that platelet recruitment to the liver via macrophages contributes to APAP-induced liver injury, but there were many areas where the data supporting the conclusions were incomplete. For example, the idea that platelets only affected KC glycolysis, but not the metabolism of other cells, to mediate the phenotype after injury is not adequately supported by the evidence. It is recommended to perform additional experiments to strengthen the conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. ProteinConformers: large-scale and energetically profiled descriptions of protein conformational landscapes

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Yihang Zhou
   2. Chen Wei
   3. Minghao Sun
   4. Lin Wang
   5. Jin Song
   6. Fanding Xu
   7. Yang Li
   8. Wei Zheng
   9. Yang Zhang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents a useful database resource containing protein conformations generated through molecular dynamics simulations, with extensive quality evaluation and benchmarking. While the database is well-constructed and professionally organized, the evidence supporting its claimed representation of protein conformational landscapes is incomplete, as the short simulation times and starting structure bias prevent true Boltzmann sampling of the conformational space.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. The role of MICOS in organizing mitochondrial cristae in malaria parasites

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Silvia Tassan-Lugrezin
   2. Irina Bregy
   3. Judith López Orra
   4. Nicholas I Proellochs
   5. Geert-Jan van Gemert
   6. Rianne Stoter
   7. Felix Evers
   8. Taco WA Kooij
   9. Laura van Niftrik

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides valuable insights into mitochondrial cristae organization in Plasmodium falciparum, particularly in the context of its divergent MICOS composition. The authors present convincing evidence, supported by phenotypic and morphological analyses, that cristae junction maintenance can be uncoupled from de novo cristae formation, reinforcing an emerging model of mitochondrial inner membrane organization. Notably, the absence of Mic10 alongside an enlarged and divergent MICOS complex highlights an intriguing evolutionary adaptation, although further characterization of the complex would strengthen the study's overall significance.

     [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

   Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

5. Regulation of sphingolipid synthesis by the C2H2 zinc finger transcription factor Com2 through ubiquitin-proteasome mediated degradation pathway

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Kosei Matsumoto
   2. Ayane Nagai
   3. Nao Komatsu
   4. Yuko Ishino
   5. Rina Shirai
   6. Toshiya Ueno
   7. Mio Masaki
   8. Ken-taro Sakata
   9. Motohiro Tani
   10. Tatsuya Maeda
   11. Naotaka Tanaka
   12. Mitsuaki Tabuchi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides valuable insights into how cells maintain sphingolipid homeostasis through transcriptional control and regulated protein degradation in response to changes in sphingolipid levels. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing overall, with solid genetic and biochemical approaches, while some mechanistic aspects remain to be clarified. This work will be of interest to researchers studying lipid metabolism and membrane biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Allosteric disulfide control of ligand binding and endocytosis of the natural killer cell receptor for HLA-G

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Sumati Rajagopalan
   2. Joyce Chiu
   3. Jinghua Lu
   4. George M Mastorakos
   5. Saurav Majumder
   6. Kristof Nolan
   7. Erin J Adams
   8. Peter Sun
   9. Phillip J Hogg
   10. Eric O Long

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents important findings on the molecular mechanisms governing how the natural killer cell receptor KIR2DL4 interacts with HLA-G and undergoes internalization. The authors provide solid evidence for an allosteric disulfide-bond switch that regulates receptor activity, using a multifaceted approach that includes mutagenesis, mass spectrometry, and imaging. The work would be further strengthened by validating these mechanisms in primary immune cells and providing direct structural evidence for the proposed ligand-binding interface.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Binding Entropy Can Be Predicted by Crystallographic Ensembles

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Charlotte A Miller
   2. Stephanie A Wankowicz

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides a useful demonstration that, at least for the systems examined, aspects of the entropic contribution to protein-ligand binding can be inferred directly from crystallographic data. In doing so, it strengthens a view of crystal structures as heterogeneous ensembles that are amenable to statistical-mechanical analysis rather than purely static models. The analytical approaches are carefully developed and transparently discussed, with thoughtful consideration of both successful and less effective methods, lending solid support to the central conclusions. However, because the analysis is based on a relatively small and narrowly sampled set of protein-ligand complexes, the generality of these findings remains speculative and will require broader validation.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Brainwide dopamine dynamics across sleep-wake transitions

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Changwan Chen
   2. Xun Tu
   3. Lihui Lu
   4. Cody Pham
   5. Xiaofan Zhang
   6. Rachel Su
   7. Ella Li
   8. Zihan Jin
   9. Wenqing Cao
   10. Yipching Yang
   11. Matthew Kihiczak
   12. Kristal Hui
   13. Dana Darmohray

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides important insights regarding the temporal dynamics of dopamine across sleep/wake transitions in several brain areas. Using multi-site fiber photometry combined with EEG/EMG recordings, the study revealed heterogenous dynamics across both cortical and several subcortical areas. Although the evidence for these observations is solid, evidence for the proposed mechanisms driving DA dynamics is incomplete. Overall, the study may have a substantial impact on several fields working on the neurobiology of DA signaling.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Actin-membrane interface stress regulates Arp2/3-branched actin density during lamellipodial protrusion

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Mitchell T Butler
   2. Max A Hockenberry
   3. Harrison H Truscott
   4. Wesley R Legant
   5. James E Bear

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides direct and compelling evidence that lamellipodial protrusions dynamically adjust Arp2/3 complex incorporation in response to mechanical counterforces, while also modulating cellular responsiveness to upstream signals like Rac GTPase. By combining endogenous labeling, live-cell imaging, and optogenetic signaling activation, the work demonstrates how adhesion state and physicochemical perturbations reproducibly alter branched actin organization, offering a fundamental advance over previous works. The findings deliver significant insights that will resonate broadly with cell biologists and biochemists studying actin dynamics and mechanotransduction.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Light-entrained chromatin priming poises rapid metamorphosis in a marine sponge

    This article has 5 authors:

    1. Huifang Yuan
    2. Oceane Blard
    3. Zac Pujic
    4. Bernard M Degnan
    5. Sandie M Degnan

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      In this study, Yuan and colleagues perform transcriptomic and epigenomic experiments to study open chromatin regions and transcripts that change upon larval settlement in the sponge Amphimedon. The authors present compelling evidence to show that sponge larvae prepare for receiving an environmental cue (sunset) by extensively modifying their chromatin accessibility in the vicinity of genes that are going to be regulated during metamorphosis. The study represents a fundamental advance in understanding the fine genetic control of larval settlement and has significance beyond the immediate field of sponge larval biology.

    Reviewed by eLife