eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Xcr1+ type 1 conventional dendritic cells are essential mediators for atherosclerosis progression

   This article has 17 authors:

   1. Tianhan Li
   2. Liaoxun Lu
   3. Juanjuan Qiu
   4. Xin Dong
   5. Le Yang
   6. Kexin He
   7. Yanrong Gu
   8. Binhui Zhou
   9. Tingting Jia
   10. Toby Lawrence
   11. Marie Malissen
   12. Guixue Wang
   13. Rong Huang
   14. Hui Wang
   15. Bernard Malissen
   16. Yinming Liang
   17. Lichen Zhang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript by Li, Lu et al., presents important findings on the role of cDC1 in atherosclerosis and their influence on the adaptive immune system. Using Xcr1Cre-Gfp Rosa26LSL-DTA ApoE-/- mouse models, these data convincingly reveal an unexpected, non-redundant role of the XCL1-XCR1 axis in mediating cDC1 contributions to atherosclerosis.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. An abundant merozoite surface protein of Plasmodium falciparum modulates susceptibility to inhibitory antibodies

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Isabelle G Henshall
   2. Jill Chmielewski
   3. Dimuthu Angage
   4. Ornella Romeo
   5. Keng Heng Lai
   6. Kaitlin R Turland
   7. Nicki Badii
   8. Michael Foley
   9. Robin F Anders
   10. James Beeson
   11. Danny W Wilson

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important work challenges current models of merozoite surface protein function by showing that MSP2 is dispensable for parasite growth while modulating immune responses to AMA1, with implications for malaria vaccine design. The conclusions are supported by compelling experimental evidence, including state-of-the-art technologies and well-characterized monoclonal antibodies. These findings provide new insights into immune evasion and antigen targeting that will be of broad interest to parasitology, immunology, and vaccine researchers.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. REPOP: bacterial population quantification from plate counts

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Pedro Pessoa
   2. Carol Lu
   3. Stanimir Asenov Tashev
   4. Rory Kruithoff
   5. Douglas P Shepherd
   6. Steve Pressé

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study introduces a Bayesian method to determine bacterial counts that accounts for the experimental noise inherent to dilution and plating methods, and distinguishes it from biological uncertainty. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing, combining simulated data and experimental data. The method will be of interest to microbial ecologists, and potentially to the broader community interested in inference from biological data, even more so if the domain of application and the limitations are further clarified.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Noninvasive ultrasound targeted modulation of calcium influx in splenic immunocytes potentiates antineoplastic immunity attenuating hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Wei Dong
   2. Guihu Wang
   3. Senyang Li
   4. Yichao Chai
   5. Qian Wang
   6. Yucheng Li
   7. Qiaoman Fei
   8. Yujin Zong
   9. Jing Geng
   10. Pengfei Liu
   11. Zongfang Li

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study presents an innovative noninvasive immunotherapeutic strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma by combining ultrasound stimulation with calcium-loaded nanodroplets to activate splenic immune responses. The authors provide solid preclinical data, including single-cell transcriptomic analyses and evidence of tumor growth suppression, supported by a creative and well-executed methodology. Further validation of the calcium signaling mechanisms and assessment of long-term safety will strengthen the translational potential of this approach. The work will be of broad interest to researchers in oncology, immunotherapy, and biomedical engineering.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. The impact of ambient contamination on demultiplexing methods for single-nucleus multiome experiments

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Terence Li
   2. Marcus Alvarez
   3. Cuining Liu
   4. Kevin Abuhanna
   5. Yu Sun
   6. Jason Ernst
   7. Kathrin Plath
   8. Brunilda Balliu
   9. Chongyuan Luo
   10. Noah Zaitlen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study introduces ambisim, a rigorously validated and well-documented simulation framework that enables the generation of synthetic, genotype-aware single-cell RNA and ATAC sequencing datasets under realistic conditions. The authors provide solid evidence of its utility by benchmarking multiple demultiplexing methods and proposing a new variant consistency metric. While the tool is valuable for guiding method selection, the interpretation of the new metric requires further clarification.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Neural representation of time across complementary reference frames

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Yangwen Xu
   2. Nicola Sartorato
   3. Léo Dutriaux
   4. Roberto Bottini

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents a valuable finding on the neural representation of time from two distinct egocentric and allocentric reference frames. The evidence is solid and largely supports the hypothesis, with one caveat that the task differences could impact the observed effects. The work will be of interest to cognitive neuroscientists working on the perception and memory of time.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Linking spinal circuit reorganization to recovery after thoracic spinal cord injury

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Natalia A Shevtsova
   2. Andrew B Lockhart
   3. Ilya A Rybak
   4. David SK Magnuson
   5. Simon M Danner

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study describes a computational model of the rat spinal locomotor circuits and how they could be plastically reconfigured after lateral hemisection or contusion injuries to replicate gaits observed experimentally in vivo. Overall, the simulation results convincingly mirror the gait parameters observed experimentally. The model suggests the emergence of detour circuits after lateral hemisection, whereas after a midline contusion, the model suggests plasticity of left-right and sensory inputs below the injury.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. 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 a 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

9. 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

10. 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 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. José-Maria Carazo
    16. Mark Carrington
    17. Tom Blundell
    18. Garib N Murshudov
    19. Phillip J Stansfeld
    20. Mark SP Sansom
    21. Harry P De Koning
    22. Christopher G Tate
    23. Simone 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 to understand how TbAQP2 mutations lead to drug resistance. Using cryo-EM, molecular dynamics simulations, and lysis assays the authors present convincing evidence that mutations in TbAQP2 make permeation of trypanocidal drugs energetically less favourable, and that this impacts the ability of drugs to achieve a therapeutic dose. Overall, this data will be of interest for those working on aquaporins, and development of trypanosomiasis drugs as well as drugs targeting aquaporins in general.

    Reviewed by eLife