eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Bidirectional translocation of actomyosin drives epithelial invagination in ascidian siphon tube morphogenesis

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Jinghan Qiao
   2. Pengyu Yu
   3. Hongzhe Peng
   4. Wenjie Shi
   5. Bo Li
   6. Bo Dong

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This useful study uses a combination of experimental and modeling approaches to investigate the role of actomyosin in epithelial invagination during Ciona siphon tube morphogenesis. Several types of solid quantitative analyses are presented, yet the evidence supporting the central claim of bidirectional translocation of actomyosin remains incomplete. Since epithelial invagination contributes to the morphogenesis of many developing organs, this work has the potential to appeal to both cell biologists and developmental biologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Analysis of cancer mutations introduced into the Drosophila Notch Negative Regulatory Region uncovers a diversity of regulatory outcomes

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Hideyuki Shimizu
   2. Martin Baron

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study presents a technically rigorous and carefully controlled analysis of the signalling potential of cancer-associated gain-of-function Notch alleles. The work is clearly presented, and the experiments are robust, comprehensive, and well-controlled. While some data primarily establish the system or report negative findings, the comparative approach in a well-characterized model provides convincing mechanistic evidence for how these Notch variants function. This study will be of interest to researchers in both developmental and cancer biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Role of tankyrase scaffolding in the β-catenin destruction complex and WNT signaling

   This article has 17 authors:

   1. Qian Wang
   2. Liping Li
   3. Lin You
   4. Shuai Wang
   5. Lei Han
   6. Bingnan Wang
   7. Liping Yao
   8. Yong Lu
   9. Ilgen Mender
   10. Ann M Flusche
   11. Chiho Kim
   12. Nageswari Yarravarapu
   13. Andrew Lemoff
   14. Lawrence Lum
   15. Jerry W Shay
   16. Yonghao Yu
   17. Chuo Chen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study reports the development of the first tankyrase degrader and demonstrates its enhanced ability to inhibit β-catenin signaling compared to conventional tankyrase inhibitors. The evidence supporting the conclusions is comprehensive and convincing, based on rigorous biochemical and cellular analyses. The findings will be of broad interest to researchers studying Wnt signaling, protein degradation, and cancer biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Genomic privacy risks in GWAS summary statistics

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Ao Lan
   2. Yudi Pawitan
   3. Xia Shen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study provides a theoretical framework for quantifying privacy risk from publicly shared genome-wide association summary statistics. The findings reveal the conditions under which genotype reconstruction may become feasible, challenging long-held assumptions about personal data safety. While the evidence is solid, supported by clear mathematical derivations and simulations, validation on large empirical datasets would further strengthen the claims.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Genomic privacy risks in GWAS summary statistics

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Ao Lan
   2. Yudi Pawitan
   3. Xia Shen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study provides a theoretical framework for quantifying privacy risk from publicly shared genome-wide association summary statistics. The findings reveal the conditions under which genotype reconstruction may become feasible, challenging long-held assumptions about personal data safety. While the evidence is solid, supported by clear mathematical derivations and simulations, validation on large empirical datasets would further strengthen the claims.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Kinesin-1 conformational dynamics are controlled by a cargo-sensitive TPR switch

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Shivam Shukla
   2. Jessica A Cross
   3. Monika Kish
   4. Sathish KN Yadav
   5. Johannes F Weijman
   6. Laura O’Regan
   7. Judith Mantell
   8. Ufuk Borucu
   9. Xiyue Leng
   10. Christiane Schaffitzel
   11. Jonathan J Phillips
   12. Derek N Woolfson
   13. Mark P Dodding

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The manuscript by Shukla et al. provides important mechanistic insights into kinesin-1 autoinhibition and cargo-mediated activation. Using a convincing combination of protein engineering, computational modeling, biophysical assays, HDX-MS, and electron microscopy, the authors reveal how cargo binding induces an allosteric transition that propagates to the motor domains and enhances MAP7 binding. Despite limitations arising from conformational heterogeneity and structural resolution, the study presents a unified mechanism for kinesin-1 activation that will be of broad interest to the motor protein, structural biology, and cell biology communities.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. UV irradiation alters TFAM binding to mitochondrial DNA

   This article has 15 authors:

   1. Dillon E King
   2. Emily E Beard
   3. Matthew J Satusky
   4. Ian Ryde
   5. Alex George
   6. Caitlin Johnson
   7. Emma L Dolan
   8. Yuning Zhang
   9. Wei Zhu
   10. Hunter Wilkins
   11. Evan Corden
   12. Susan K Murphy
   13. Dorothy Erie
   14. Raluca Gordân
   15. Joel N Meyer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) exhibits a degree of resistance to mutagenesis under genotoxic stress, and this study on the mitochondrial Transcription Factor A (TFAM) presents valuable data concerning the possible mechanisms involved. The presented data are solid, technically rigorous, and consistent with established literature findings. The experiments are well-executed, providing reliable evidence on the change of TFAM-DNA interactions following UVC irradiation. However, the evidence is inadequate to support the primary claims.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Interplay between cohesin and TORC1 links chromosome segregation and gene expression to environmental changes

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Dorian Besson
   2. Sabine Vaur
   3. Stéphanie Vazquez
   4. Sylvie Tournier
   5. Yannick Gachet
   6. Adrien Birot
   7. Stéphane Claverol
   8. Adèle Marston
   9. Anastasios Damdimopoulos
   10. Karl Ekwall
   11. Jean-Paul Javerzat

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study describes a new link between nutrient signaling and chromosome regulation, providing compelling evidence that reduced activity in the central nutrient-sensing pathway governed by TORC1 improves chromosome stability and alters gene expression in S. pombe through effects on cohesin. While the biological importance of this newly described circuit is not yet fully known, and some data would benefit from further clarification, the overall body of evidence supports the main conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Multi-barrier unfolding of the double-knotted protein, TrmD–Tm1570, revealed by single-molecule force spectroscopy and molecular dynamics

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Fernando Bruno da Silva
   2. Szymon Niewieczerzal
   3. Iwona Lewandowska
   4. Mateusz Fortunka
   5. Maciej Sikora
   6. Laura-Marie Silbermann
   7. Katarzyna Tych
   8. Joanna I Sulkowska

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study investigates the folding and unfolding behavior of the doubly knotted protein TrmD-Tm1570, providing insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying protein knotting. The findings reveal multiple unfolding pathways and suggest that the formation of double knots may require chaperone assistance, offering valuable insights into topologically complex proteins. The evidence is solid, supported by consistent agreement between simulation and experiment, though some aspects of the presentation and experimental scope could be clarified or expanded.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Investigation of All Disease-Relevant Lysine Acetylation Sites in α-Synuclein Enabled by Non-canonical Amino Acid Mutagenesis

    This article has 15 authors:

    1. Marie Shimogawa
    2. Ming-Hao Li
    3. Grace Shin Hye Park
    4. Jennifer Ramirez
    5. Hudson Lee
    6. Paris R Watson
    7. Swati Sharma
    8. Zongtao Lin
    9. Chao Peng
    10. Virginia M.-Y Lee
    11. Benjamin A Garcia
    12. David W Christianson
    13. Elizabeth Rhoades
    14. David Eliezer
    15. E James Petersson

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This valuable work provides new insights into the role of lysine acetylation of alpha-synuclein, the protein involved in Parkinson's Disease. The evidence is mostly solid, but the claims around the potential disease relevance based on seeding assays and structural work need to be toned down, or else supported by additional experimental evidence. Overall, the work will be of interest to researchers in the fields of protein biophysics and post-translational modifications, as well as Parkinson's Disease.

    Reviewed by eLife