eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Insights into substrate binding and utilization by hyaluronan synthase

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Zachery Stephens
   2. Julia Karasinska
   3. Jochen Zimmer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This work provides a fundamental molecular mechanism of how a single enzyme can coordinate the ordered assembly of hyaluronan, a complex polysaccharide, from two different building blocks in an alternating pattern. The authors present compelling evidence by combining high-resolution structural data with rigorous biochemical validation to define the underlying process. Major strengths of the study include the clarity and coherence of the mechanistic insights and the complementary use of structural and functional approaches to address the research question.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. CROP2, a Retriever-PROPPIN Complex Mediating Protein Export from Endosomes to the Plasma Membrane

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Maria Giovanna De Leo
   2. Andreas Mayer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The authors present evidence for a WIPI2-Retriever complex (termed CROP2) that couples cargo selection to carrier fission at endosomes. CROP2 appears to function analogously to the previously described CROP1 complex, formed by WIPI1 and Retromer, with which it shares structural similarities. They provide convincing evidence that CROP1 and CROP2 regulate the trafficking of distinct subsets of cargoes; however, the cellular evidence for the existence of these distinct complexes remains incomplete. Overall, the findings are important and expand our understanding of how cargo selection by Retriever and Retromer is orchestrated at endosomes.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Niche exclusion of a lung pathogen in mice with designed probiotic communities

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Kelsey E Hern
   2. Ashlee M Phillips
   3. Catherine M Mageeney
   4. Kelly P Williams
   5. Anupama Sinha
   6. Hans K Carlson
   7. Kunal Poorey
   8. Nicole M Collette
   9. Steven S Branda
   10. Adam P Arkin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study reports a valuable method to predict the capacity of a candidate probiotic bacterium to metabolically outcompete a bacterial pathogen in the ecological niche of the murine respiratory tract (niche exclusion) based on the overlap of used carbon sources in vitro. The in vivo confirmation of the in vitro/in silico predicted efficacy is, at this stage, incomplete and would require more persuasive experimental evidence for the elimination of alternative mechanisms of action.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Subnational tailoring of ITN distributions to maximise malaria control

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Andrew C Glover
   2. Hannah Koenker
   3. El Hadji Amadou Niang
   4. Kate Kolaczinski
   5. Thomas S Churcher

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This paper describes a useful Bayesian model to estimate the probabilities of access, use, and use given access of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), by using sub-national cross-sectional survey data and the annual number of ITNs received at the country level. The authors provide convincing evidence to support their modeling approach, which could be enhanced by more validation and exploration of model assumptions.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Global molecular landscape of early MASLD progression in obesity

   This article has 21 authors:

   1. Qing Zhao
   2. William De Nardo
   3. Ruoyu Wang
   4. Yi Zhong
   5. Umur Keles
   6. Gabrielé Sakalauskaite
   7. Li Na Zhao
   8. Huiyi Tay
   9. Sonia Youhanna
   10. Mengchao Yan
   11. Ye Xie
   12. Youngrae Kim
   13. Sungdong Lee
   14. Rachel Liyu Lim
   15. Guoshou Teo
   16. Pradeep Narayanaswamy
   17. Paul R Burton
   18. Volker M Lauschke
   19. Hyungwon Choi
   20. Matthew J Watt
   21. Philipp Kaldis

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The authors provide a useful integrated analytical approach to investigating MASLD focused on diverse multiomic integration methods. The strength of evidence for this new resource is solid, as analyses highlight the importance of previously-described pathophysiologic processes, as well as unveil several new mechanisms as key features of MASLD in obese patients.

   Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

6. Single molecule counting detects low-copy glycine receptors in hippocampal and striatal synapses

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Serena Camuso
   2. Yana Vella
   3. Souad Youjil Abadi
   4. Clémence Mille
   5. Bert Brône
   6. Christian G Specht

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The study presents convincing quantitative evidence, supported by appropriate negative controls, for the presence of low-abundance glycine receptors (GlyRs) within inhibitory synapses in telencephalic regions of the mouse brain. Using sensitive single-molecule localization microscopy of endogenously tagged GlyRs, the authors reveal previously undetected populations of these receptors. Although the functional significance of these low-abundance GlyRs remains to be established, the findings offer valuable insights and methodologies that will be of interest to neuroscientists studying inhibitory synapse biology.

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

   Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

7. Lenacapavir-induced Lattice Hyperstabilization is Central to HIV-1 Capsid Failure at the Nuclear Pore Complex and in the Cytoplasm

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Arpa Hudait
   2. Ryan C Burdick
   3. Ellie K Bare
   4. Vinay K Pathak
   5. Gregory A Voth

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study investigates how the HIV inhibitor lenacapavir influences capsid mechanics and interactions with the nuclear pore complex. It provides important insights into how drug-induced hyperstabilization of the viral shell can compromise its structural integrity during nuclear entry. While the modeling is technically sophisticated and the results are promising, some mechanistic interpretations rely on assumptions embedded in the simulations, leaving parts of the evidence incomplete.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Linear and categorical coding units in the mouse gustatory cortex drive population dynamics and behavior in taste decision-making

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Liam Lang
   2. Camelia Yuejiao Zheng
   3. Jennifer M Blackwell
   4. Giancarlo La Camera
   5. Alfredo Fontanini

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important work advances our understanding of the single neuron coding types in the mouse gustatory cortex and the functional roles of these neurons for perceptual decision-making. The conclusions are based on compelling evidence from rigorous behavioral experiments, high-density electrophysiology, sophisticated data analysis, and neural network modeling with in silico perturbations of functionally-identified units. This work will be of broad interest to systems neuroscientists.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Reactivation-coupled brain stimulation enables complete learning generalization

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Yibo Xie
   2. Minmin Wang
   3. Yuan Gao
   4. Baoyu Wu
   5. Shaomin Zhang
   6. Mengyuan Gong
   7. Zoe Kourtzi
   8. Ke Jia

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study shows that combining reactivation-based training with anodal tDCS yields an unusually broad generalization of visual perceptual learning, while preserving robust learning gains and markedly reducing total training time. Although the empirical evidence is solid, the proposed mechanistic account, i.e., the GABA modulation, disrupted offline consolidation and reduced perceptual overfitting, remains insufficiently substantiated, as these assumptions lack direct neurochemical support, and several alternative behavioral explanations and necessary control comparisons have not been fully addressed. The work will be of broad interest to researchers investigating brain plasticity, perceptual learning, and rehabilitation training.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. The structural context of mutations in proteins predicts their effect on antibiotic resistance

    This article has 4 authors:

    1. Anna G Green
    2. Mahbuba Tasmin
    3. Roger Vargas
    4. Maha R Farhat

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This valuable study leverages a large global dataset of tens of thousands of tuberculosis samples to place recurrent protein-coding mutations into their three-dimensional structural context, offering an expanded view of how antibiotic resistance emerges compared to traditional genetic analyses alone. The strength of evidence is convincing, supported by the scale and breadth of the dataset and the systematic structural analysis, although some of the assumptions made in the the modeling approach are only partially supported. Overall, the work will be of broad interest to researchers studying microbial evolution, antibiotic resistance, and structure-function relationships in pathogens.

    Reviewed by eLife