eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Structure-guided loop grafting improves expression and stability of influenza neuraminidase for vaccine development

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Pramila Rijal
   2. Leiyan Wei
   3. Guido C Paesen
   4. David I Stuart
   5. Mark Haworth
   6. Kuan-Ying A Huang
   7. Thomas A Bowden
   8. Alain RM Townsend

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The authors developed a methodology to graph antigenic surface loops on influenza virus neuraminidases. The hybrid proteins retained the structure of the neuraminidase scaffold and the antigenicity of the grafted loops. This fundamental work should help in developing novel neuraminidase constructs for use in influenza virus vaccines. The paper presents compelling evidence supporting the conclusions arrived at by the authors.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Scheduled feeding improves behavioral outcomes and reduces inflammation in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Huei-Bin Wang
   2. Natalie E Smale
   3. Sarah H Brown
   4. Sophia AMB Villanueva
   5. David Zhou
   6. Aly Mulji
   7. Deap S Bhandal
   8. Kyle Nguyen-Ngo
   9. John R Harvey
   10. Cristina A Ghiani
   11. Christopher S Colwell

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript presents solid experimental data using Fmr1 knockout mice to explore the fundamental role of Fmr1 in sleep regulation. The study supports the hypothesis that scheduled feeding can improve circadian rhythm and behavior in a mouse model of Fragile X syndrome. These findings may offer new insights into neurodevelopmental disorders and their potential treatment strategies.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Structure-guided secretome analysis of gall-forming microbes offers insights into effector diversity and evolution

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Soham Mukhopadhyay
   2. Muhammad Asim Javed
   3. Jiaxu Wu
   4. Edel Perez-Lopez

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents an important discovery regarding the diversity and evolution of gall-forming microbial effectors. Supported by convincing computational structural predictions and analyses, the research provides insights into the unique mechanisms by which gall-forming microbes exert their pathogenicity in plants. This study also offers guidance that is of value for future studies on pathogen effector function and co-evolution with host plants.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Applying 3D correlative structured illumination microscopy and X-ray tomography to characterise herpes simplex virus-1 morphogenesis

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Kamal L Nahas
   2. Viv Connor
   3. Kaveesha J Wijesinghe
   4. Henry G Barrow
   5. Ian M Dobbie
   6. Maria Harkiolaki
   7. Stephen C Graham
   8. Colin M Crump

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This landmark manuscript comprehensively examines the roles of nine structural proteins in herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) assembly and nuclear egress. By integrating cryo-light microscopy and soft X-ray tomography, the study presents an innovative approach to investigating viral assembly within cells. The research is thoroughly executed, yielding exceptional data that explain previously unknown functions expected to bear widespread influence. This work is of broad interest to virologists, cellular biologists, and structural biologists, offering a robust, contextually rich methodology for studying large protein complex assembly within the cellular environment, serving as an excellent starting point for high-resolution techniques.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. A thermodynamic framework for nonequilibrium self-assembly and force morphology tradeoffs in branched actin networks

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Elisabeth Rennert
   2. Suriyanarayanan Vaikuntanathan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Rennert et al. developed a valuable thermodynamic framework to study the force response of branched actin networks from the crucial and unexplored perspective of energetic cost. They used the fact that the entropy production rate must be positive to derive inequalities that set limits on the maximum force produced by branched actin networks, and speculate that the dissipative cost beyond that required to move the load may be necessary to maintain an adaptive steady state. This work is highly innovative, but remains incomplete until the hypotheses of the model are better justified and the conclusions about the dissipative cost of the system are better established.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Interplay of YEATS2 and GCDH regulates histone crotonylation and drives EMT in head and neck cancer

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Deepak Pant
   2. Parik Kakani
   3. Rushikesh Joshi
   4. Abin Sabu
   5. Shruti Agrawal
   6. Atul Samaiya
   7. Sanjeev Shukla

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     These useful findings assigned a novel functional implication of histone acylation, crotonylation. Mechanistic insights have been provided in great detail regarding the role of the YEATS2-GCDH axis in modulating epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in head and neck cancer, and overall the strength of evidence is solid.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Chalkophore-mediated respiratory oxidase flexibility controls M. tuberculosis virulence

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. John A Buglino
   2. Yaprak Ozakman
   3. Chad E Hatch
   4. Anna Benjamin
   5. Derek S Tan
   6. Michael S Glickman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this important study, the authors advance our understanding of copper uptake by chalkophores and their targeted metalloproteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These convincing data demonstrate that chalkophore-acquired copper is solely incorporated into the Mtb bcc:aa3 copper-iron respiratory oxidase under low copper conditions, and that chalkophore-mediated protection of the respiratory chain is critical to Mtb virulence. These findings may be leveraged for drug discovery and will be of broad interest to those studying bacterial pathogenesis.

   Reviewed by eLife, Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases

8. Multi-omics single-cell analysis reveals key regulators of HIV-1 persistence and aberrant host immune responses in early infection

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Dayeon Lee
   2. Sin Young Choi
   3. So-I Shin
   4. Hyunsu An
   5. Byeong-Sun Choi
   6. Jihwan Park

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents important findings that enhance our understanding of immune cell interactions in the context of chronic HIV-1 infection. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing. The authors have employed appropriate and validated methodologies, including detailed data reprocessing and batch correction to account for inter-donor variability. The inclusion of supplementary figures and analyses, such as cell communication inference, further substantiates the robustness of the findings. Overall, this work contributes to our understanding of HIV-1 immune evasion and highlights potential therapeutic targets for reservoir eradication.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. A neural network model that generates salt concentration memory-dependent chemotaxis in Caenorhabditis elegans

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Masakatsu Hironaka
   2. Tomonari Sumi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     With a computational analysis of a neuroanatomical network model in C. elegans, this valuable work investigates the synaptic mechanism for memory-dependent klinotaxis, i.e., salt concentration chemotaxis. By incorporating experimental data altering the ASER neuron's basal glutamate release into their model, the authors demonstrate the possibility of a transition between excitatory and inhibitory signaling at the ASER-AIY synapse, depending on environmental and cultivated salt concentrations. These solid findings offer a proposal for how synaptic plasticity plays a role in sensorimotor navigation, and will be of interest to worm biologists and theoretical neuroscientists.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. PRDM16 functions as a co-repressor in the BMP pathway to suppress neural stem cell proliferation

    This article has 3 authors:

    1. Li He
    2. Jiayu Wen
    3. Qi Dai

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This valuable work presents how PRDM16 plays a critical role during colloid plexus development, through regulating BMP signaling. Solid evidence supports the context-dependent gene regulatory mechanisms both in vivo and in vitro. The work will be of broad interest to researchers working on growth factor signaling mechanisms and vertebrate development.

    Reviewed by eLife