eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. RBMX2 links Mycobacterium bovis infection to epithelial–mesenchymal transition and lung cancer progression

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Chao Wang
   2. Yongchong Peng
   3. Hongxin Yang
   4. Yanzhu Jiang
   5. Abdul Karim Khalid
   6. Kailun Zhang
   7. Shengsong Xie
   8. Luiz Bermudez
   9. Yong Yang
   10. Lei Zhang
   11. Huanchun Chen
   12. Aizhen Guo
   13. Yingyu Chen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The identification of RBMX2 as a novel regulator linking mycobacterial infection to Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and cancer progression are fundamental findings that advance our understanding of a major research question about the link between infectious and non-infectious diseases, microbiology and oncology. It does so by introducing RBMX2 as a novel host factor, a potential therapeutic target and biomarker for both TB and lung cancer. The evidence provided is convincing because it is appropriate and the validated multi-omics methodologies used are in line with the current state of the art. This study will be of interest to scientists working in the fields of drug discovery, microbiology and oncology.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Addressing cultural and knowledge barriers to enable preclinical sex inclusive research

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Brianna N Gaskill
   2. Benjamin Phillips
   3. Jonathan Ho
   4. Holly Rafferty
   5. Oladele Olajide Onada
   6. Andrew Rooney
   7. Amrita Ahluwalia
   8. Natasha A Karp

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The authors quantified intentions and knowledge gaps in scientists' use of sex as a biological variable in their work, and used a workshop intervention to show that while willingness was high, pressure points centered on statistical knowledge and perceived additional monetary costs to research. These important findings demonstrate the difficulty in changing understanding: while interventions can improve knowledge and decrease perceived barriers, the impact was small. The evidence for the findings is solid.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Progressive remote memory decline coincides with parvalbumin interneuron hyperexcitability and enhanced inhibition of cortical engram cells in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Julia J van Adrichem
   2. Rolinka J van der Loo
   3. Romina Ambrosini Defendi
   4. August B Smit
   5. Michel C van den Oever
   6. Ronald E van Kesteren

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides valuable insights into the mechanisms of remote memory impairment in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model. The evidence is compelling, with careful use of viral-TRAP labeling and patch-clamp electrophysiology to demonstrate altered inhibitory microcircuit function, though the mechanistic link to memory deficits remains correlative. Overall, the work advances understanding of early circuit-level changes in AD, while highlighting open questions regarding causality and broader network contributions.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. A high-resolution, easy-to-build light-sheet microscope for subcellular imaging

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. John Haug
   2. Seweryn Gałecki
   3. Hsin-Yu Lin
   4. Xiaoding Wang
   5. Kevin M Dean

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study presents Altair-LSFM, a well-documented implementation of a light-sheet fluorescence microscope (LSFM) designed for accessibility and reduced cost. The approach provides compelling evidence of its strengths, including the use of custom-machined baseplates, detailed assembly instructions, and demonstrated live-cell imaging capabilities. This manuscript will be of interest to microscopists and potentially biologists seeking accessible LSFM tools.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Cryo-EM structure revealed a novel F-actin binding motif in a Legionella pneumophila lysine fatty acyltransferase

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Wenjie W Zeng
   2. Garrison Komaniecki
   3. Jiaze Liu
   4. Hening Lin
   5. Yuxin Mao

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study by Zeng et al characterizes a novel Legionella pneumophila effector, Llfat1 (Lpg1387), which binds actin through a newly identified actin-binding domain. Data is convincing; structural analysis of the Llfat1 ABD-F-actin complex enabled the development of this domain as a probe for F-actin. Additionally, the authors show that Llfat1 functions as a lysine fatty acyltransferase targeting small GTPases, highlighting its importance in both bacterial pathogenesis and cytoskeletal biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. EPB41L4A-AS1 long noncoding RNA acts in both cis- and trans-acting transcriptional regulation and controls nucleolar biology

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Alan Monziani
   2. Juan Pablo Unfried
   3. Todor Cvetanovic
   4. Igor Ulitsky

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This paper provides important findings towards understanding the role of the lncRNA EPB41L4A-AS1 in a human cell line. The data is generally convincing, supported by extensive and clever integrative analysis. The work provides insights into how this lncRNA regulates gene expression via complex mechanisms; however the biological relevance awaits validation in other models.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Cardiolipin deficiency disrupts electron transport chain and drives steatohepatitis

   This article has 35 authors:

   1. Marisa J Brothwell
   2. Guoshen Cao
   3. J Alan Maschek
   4. Annelise M Poss
   5. Alek D Peterlin
   6. Liping Wang
   7. Talia B Baker
   8. Justin L Shahtout
   9. Piyarat Siripoksup
   10. Quentinn J Pearce
   11. Jordan M Johnson
   12. Fabian M Finger
   13. Alexandre Prola
   14. Sarah A Pellizzari
   15. Gillian L Hale
   16. Allison M Manuel
   17. Shinya Watanabe
   18. Edwin R Miranda
   19. Kajsa E Affolter
   20. Trevor S Tippetts
   21. Linda S Nikolova
   22. Ran Hee Choi
   23. Stephen T Decker
   24. Mallikarjun Patil
   25. J Leon Catrow
   26. William L Holland
   27. Sara M Nowinski
   28. Daniel S Lark
   29. Kelsey H Fisher-Wellman
   30. Patrice N Mimche
   31. Kimberley J Evason
   32. James E Cox
   33. Scott A Summers
   34. Zach Gerhart-Hines
   35. Katsuhiko Funai

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This revised manuscript retreats from the original claim of establishing a causal link between cardiolipin deficiency and the progression from steatotic liver disease to steatohepatitis and instead advances a more limited mechanistic conclusion: that cardiolipin deficiency perturbs electron transport and promotes electron leak from the mitochondrial respiratory chain. The experimental evidence supporting this revised claim is now solid, and the potential for increased electron leak to contribute to liver pathophysiology is demonstrated. However, absent evidence that cardiolipin deficiency is causally upstream of disease progression, the overall significance of the work remains limited. While the study provides a convincing analysis of mitochondrial bioenergetics, the narrowing of its central claim diminishes its impact relative to that proposed in the original submission.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Local Inhibitory Dynamics Underpin Temporal Integration and Functional Segregation between Barrels and Septa in the Mouse Barrel Cortex

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Ali Özgür Argunşah
   2. Tevye Jason Stachniak
   3. Jenq-Wei Yang
   4. Linbi Cai
   5. Alexander van der Bourg
   6. Rahel Kastli
   7. Theofanis Karayannis

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Argunşah et al. investigate the mechanisms underlying the differential response dynamics of barrel vs septa domains in shaping the responses to single vs multiple whiskers. Based on the observation of a higher density of SST+ interneurons in the septa, the authors investigate the hypothesis that Elfn1-dependent short-term plasticity shapes these responses. This important study is, however, supported by incomplete evidence; factors restricting the strength of evidence are the limited spatial resolution of the multi-unit activity, as well as the lack of a mechanistic explanation. This provocative and intellectually stimulating hypothesis provides a contribution to work on how different cell types shape cortical representation.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. The distinct role of human PIT in attention control

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Siyuan Huang
   2. Lan Wang
   3. Sheng He

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study reports that the human posterior inferotemporal cortex (hPIT) functions as an attentional priority map, integrating both top-down and bottom-up attentional signals rather than serving solely as an object-processing region. The experiments and analyses are well conducted and provide compelling evidence that hPIT bridges dorsal and ventral attention networks and is robustly modulated by attention across diverse visual tasks. The study will be relevant for researchers investigating visual attention, high-level visual cortex, and the neural mechanisms that integrate endogenous and exogenous attentional control.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Homosensory and heterosensory dishabituation engage distinct circuits in Drosophila

    This article has 6 authors:

    1. Alexandros Charonitakis
    2. Sofia Pasadaki
    3. Eirini-Maria Georganta
    4. Kyriaki Foka
    5. Ourania Semelidou
    6. Efthimios MC Skoulakis

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This study provides important findings on the neural circuits underlying dishabituation of the olfactory avoidance response in Drosophila. The data as presented provide solid evidence that the dishabituation involves distinct pathways from habituation. They show that reward-activated dopaminergic neurons provide input for within-modal dishabituation, while punishment-activated dopaminergic neurons provide input for cross-modal dishabituation. The work will interest neuroscientists, particularly behavioral neuroscientists working on habituation, neural circuits, and the dopaminergic system.

    Reviewed by eLife