eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Developmental prosopagnosics have normal spatial integration in posterior ventral face-selective regions

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Daniel A Stehr
   2. Yiyuan Zhang
   3. Anusha Patgiri
   4. Alexis Kidder
   5. Kendrick Kay
   6. Bradley Duchaine

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This functional MRI study critically tests the hypothesis that poor face recognition in developmental prosopagnosia in humans is driven by reduced spatial integration and smaller receptive fields in face-selective brain regions. The evidence provided is compelling as it is well-powered, uses state-of-the-art functional brain imaging, eye tracking, and computational analyses. The observed lack of difference in population receptive field sizes between face-selective brain regions of individuals with and without prosopagnosia, though a null result, has important implications for the field, and specifically, for theories of face recognition.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. ATP-independent phosphate recycling on AGC kinase activation loops induced by alkali metal ions

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Koji Kubouchi
   2. Hideyuki Mukai

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     AGC kinases, such as PKN1, are regulated by activation loop phosphorylation. This paper reports that exposing cells to high concentrations of monovalent cations induces rapid activation loop dephosphorylation, with rapid re-phosphorylation when physiological salt is restored. Re-phosphorylation is apparently independent of ATP or candidate kinases, and the paper presents an extraordinary and unconventional mechanism involving phosphate exchange between the activation loop and an unknown acceptor molecule. The findings are intriguing and the approach is logical, but the evidence is incomplete and the significance unclear until the biochemical mechanism is identified.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Overcoming distortion in multidimensional predictive representation

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Euan Prentis
   2. Akram Bakkour

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript makes a valuable contribution to understanding learning in multidimensional environments with spurious associations, which is critical for understanding learning in the real world. The evidence is based on model simulations and a preregistered human behavioral study, but remains incomplete because of inconclusive empirical results and insufficiencies in the modeling. Moreover, there are open questions about the nature and extent to which the behavioral task induced semantic congruency.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Non-visual light modulates behavioral memory and gene expression in C. elegans

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Zhijian Ji
   2. Bingying Wang
   3. Rashmi Chandra
   4. Junqiang Liu
   5. Supeng Yang
   6. Yong Long
   7. Michael Egan
   8. Noelle L’Etoile
   9. Dengke K Ma

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study uncovers a previously unrecognized light-responsive pathway in C. elegans, centred on ZIP-2/CEBP-2 and the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP-14A5. The pathway operates independently of known photoreceptors, modulates long-term memory, and can be harnessed as a low-cost light-inducible expression system, opening new directions for sensory biology and genetic engineering in worms. The strength of evidence is compelling if a bacterially derived stimulus is ruled out. Multiple genetic, transcriptional, and behavioural assays support the pathway's role, but a decisive test showing that the initiating light cue is worm-intrinsic rather than mediated by changes in the bacterial food source is still needed.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. CNN-based learning of single-cell transcriptomes reveals a blood-detectable multi-cancer signature of brain metastasis

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Ryan Lusby
   2. Debojyoti Chowdhury
   3. Sarah Carl
   4. Vijay K Tiwari

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study describes a deep learning framework that analyzes single-cell RNA data to identify a tumor-agnostic gene signature associated with brain metastases. The identified signature uncovers key molecular mechanisms, highlights potential therapeutic targets, and demonstrates a metastasis-specific transcriptional signal in circulating platelets, suggesting its promise for non-invasive diagnostics through liquid biopsy. The evidence supporting the findings is solid, utilizing interpretable deep learning methodologies and large-scale datasets across multiple cancer types, though some aspects may benefit from additional analysis and validation.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Differential locus coeruleus–hippocampus interactions during offline states

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Mingyu Yang
   2. Oxana Eschenko

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study provides new insights into the neuronal dynamics of the locus coeruleus in relation to hippocampal sharp-wave ripples. Using high-temporal-resolution, multi-site electrophysiological recordings in rats, the authors present solid evidence supporting their main claims. Nonetheless, some aspects of the evidence remain incomplete, and several points in the data presentation would benefit from clarification. Overall, the work will be of interest to neuroscientists studying large-scale brain coordination and memory processes.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. The chromatin remodeller CHD4 regulates transcription factor binding to both prevent activation of silent enhancers and maintain active regulatory elements

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Andria Koulle
   2. Oluwaseun Ogundele
   3. Devina Shah
   4. India-May Baker
   5. Maya Lopez
   6. Nicola Reynolds
   7. Ramy Ragheb
   8. Ernest Laue
   9. Brian Hendrich

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This work offers important insights into the protein CHD4's function in chromatin remodeling and gene regulation in embryonic stem cells, supported by extensive biochemical, genomic, and imaging data. The use of an inducible degron system allows precise functional analysis, and the datasets generated represent a key resource for the field. While some interpretations of complex data could be more strongly substantiated, the study overall provides compelling evidence and makes a significant contribution to understanding CHD4's role in epigenetic regulation. This work will be of interest to the epigenetics and stem biology fields.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Endosome-associated Rab GTPases control distinct aspects of neural circuit assembly

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Katherine X Dong
   2. Hui Ji
   3. David J Luginbuhl
   4. Liqun Luo
   5. Colleen N McLaughlin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Dong et al. present a valuable analysis of mutant phenotypes of the Rab GTPases Rab5, Rab7, and Rab11 in Drosophila second-order olfactory neuron development. This is a solid characterization and comparison of the different Rab mutants on projection neuron development, with clear differences for the three Rabs, and by inference for the early, late, and recycling endosomal functions executed by each.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Redirection of SARS-CoV-2 to phagocytes by intranasal sACE2-Fc as a universal decoy confers complete prophylactic protection

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Jingyi Wang
   2. Jiangchuan Li
   3. Alex W Chin
   4. Bin Luo
   5. Junkang Wei
   6. Jiale Qiu
   7. Jianwei Ren
   8. Yin Xia
   9. Thomas Braun
   10. Leo LM Poon
   11. Bo Feng

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript presents a valuable antiviral approach using an engineered ACE2-Fc fusion protein that demonstrates broad-spectrum neutralization capacity against SARS-CoV-2 variants and achieves significant prophylactic protection in animal models through a novel Fc-mediated phagocytosis mechanism. The study provides convincing evidence for protective efficacy through rigorous in vivo validation in mice, mechanistic characterization via biodistribution studies and macrophage depletion assays, and demonstration of antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis as the primary clearance mechanism. However, there are some gaps that require attention, including the need for comparison with a previously reported ACE2 decamer, inclusion of control molecules, insufficient discussion of potential limitations such as off-target binding and immunogenicity risks, and lack of clarity regarding certain methodological aspects.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Spatially heterogeneous inhibition projects sequential activity onto unique neural subspaces

    This article has 3 authors:

    1. Andrew B Lehr
    2. Arvind Kumar
    3. Christian Tetzlaff

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This valuable study uses mathematical modeling and analysis to address the question of how neural circuits generate distinct low-dimensional, sequential neural dynamics that can change on fast, behaviorally relevant timescales. The authors propose a circuit model in which spatially heterogeneous inhibition constrains network dynamics to sequential activity on distinct neural subspaces and allows top-down sequence selection on fast timescales. The study convincingly demonstrates how this mechanism could operate and makes predictions about connectivity patterns and dynamics.

    Reviewed by eLife