eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Upstream open reading frames buffer translational variability during Drosophila evolution and development

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Yuanqiang Sun
   2. Yuange Duan
   3. Peixiang Gao
   4. Chenlu Liu
   5. Kaichun Jin
   6. Shengqian Dou
   7. Wenxiong Tang
   8. Hong Zhang
   9. Jian Lu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study reveals the important role of upstream open reading frames (uORFs) in limiting the translational variability of downstream coding sequences. Through a combination of computational simulations, comparative analyses of translation efficiency across different developmental stages in two closely related Drosophila species, and manipulative, experimental validation of translation buffering by an uORF for a gene, the authors provide convincing evidence supporting their conclusions. This work will be of broad interest to molecular biologists and geneticists.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. A green lifetime biosensor for calcium that remains bright over its full dynamic range

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Franka H van der Linden
   2. Stephen C Thornquist
   3. Rick M ter Beek
   4. Jelle Y Huijts
   5. Mark A Hink
   6. Theodorus W J Gadella
   7. Gaby Maimon
   8. Joachim Goedhart

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript reports on an FLIM-based calcium biosensor, G-CaFLITS. It represents an important contribution to the field of genetically-encoded fluorescent biosensors, and will serve as a practical tool for the FLIM imaging community. The paper provides convincing evidence of G-CaFLITS's photophysical properties and its advantages over previous biosensors such as Tq-Ca-FLITS. Although the benefits of G-Ca-FLITS over Tq-Ca-FLITS are limited by the relatively small wavelength shift, it presents some advantages in terms of compatibility with available instrumentation and brightness consistency.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Reconstruction of functional olfactory sensory tissue from embryonic nasal stem cells

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Kazuya Suzuki
   2. Fumi Wagai
   3. Mototsugu Eiraku

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript presents a valuable study utilizing an in vitro organoid system to recapitulate the developmental process of the olfactory epithelium. The authors provided solid evidence indicating that a combination of niche factors can induce organoid development and give rise to multiple cell types. However, the calcium imaging part of the study could be seen as a limitation.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. p53 engagement is a hallmark of an unfolded protein response in the nucleus of mammalian cells

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Joseph H Park
   2. Thomas J Wandless

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This paper presents useful findings that misfolded proteins in the nucleus can impair proteasomal degradation and activate p53. The results supporting the findings are largely solid, but incomplete. The manuscript could be strengthened by including more quantitative data analyses and additional experimentation/discussions on the mechanism of p53 activation by misfolded nuclear proteins. The work will be interesting primarily to scientists studying protein homeostasis.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. ACVR2A facilitates trophoblast cell invasion through TCF7/c-JUN pathway in pre-eclampsia progression

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Shujing Yang
   2. Huanyao Liu
   3. Jieshi Hu
   4. Binjun Chen
   5. Wanlu An
   6. Xuwen Song
   7. Yi Yang
   8. Fang He

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The role of ACVR2A is potentially of importance to both the biology of trophoblast cells and to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. In this manuscript, the authors have taken a useful first step towards better understanding this protein using a loss of function model in trophoblast cell lines and then examining invasion, proliferation, and transcription in these cells. The study is solid and further in vivo evidence on how target factors participate in the occurrence of placental structural disorders and diseases through potential downstream pathways will be invaluable in the future.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Mechanical imbalance between normal and transformed cells drives epithelial homeostasis through cell competition

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Praver Gupta
   2. Sayantani Kayal
   3. Nobuyuki Tanimura
   4. Shilpa P Pothapragada
   5. Harish K Senapati
   6. Padmashree Devendran
   7. Yasuyuki Fujita
   8. Dapeng Bi
   9. Tamal Das

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this important study, the authors combine innovative experimental approaches, including direct compressibility measurements and traction force analyses, with theoretical modeling to propose that wild-type cells exert compressive forces on softer HRasV12-transformed cells, influencing competition outcomes. The data generally provide solid evidence that transformed epithelial cells exhibit higher compressibility than wild-type cells, a property linked to their compaction during mechanical cell competition. However, the study would benefit from further characterization of how compression affects the behavior of HRasV12 cells and clearer causal links between compressibility and competition outcomes.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Cluster size determines internal structure of transcription factories in human cells

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Massimiliano Semeraro
   2. Giuseppe Negro
   3. Giada Forte
   4. Antonio Suma
   5. Giuseppe Gonnella
   6. Peter R Cook
   7. Davide Marenduzzo

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This is a valuable polymer model that provides insight into the origin of macromolecular mixed and demixed states within transcription clusters. The simulations are well performed and clearly presented in the context of existing experimental datasets. This compelling study will be of interest to those studying gene expression in the context of chromatin.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Axonal injury signaling is restrained by a spared synaptic branch

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Laura J Smithson
   2. Juliana L Zang
   3. Lucas Junginger
   4. Thomas J Waller
   5. Lauren Reilly-Jankowiak
   6. Sophia A Khan
   7. Ye Li
   8. Dawen Cai
   9. Catherine A Collins

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study leverages the power of Drosophila genetics and sparsely-labeled neurons to propose an intriguing new model for neuronal injury signaling. The authors present convincing evidence to show that the somatic response to axonal injury can be suppressed if the injury is not complete, suggesting the presence of a new mode of injury 'integration.' While the underlying mechanism of this fascinating observation has yet to be determined, the phenomenon itself will be of broad significance in the field.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Acetylcholine modulates prefrontal outcome coding during threat learning under uncertainty

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Gaqi Tu
   2. Peiying Wen
   3. Adel Halawa
   4. Kaori Takehara-Nishiuchi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This is an important study using a combination of optogenetics and calcium imaging to provide insight into the function of the cholinergic input to the prelimbic cortex in probabilistic spatial learning as it relates to threat. These data are timely in contributing to an ongoing discussion in the field about the role of phasic cholinergic signaling to the cortex, about which relatively little is known. The strength of the evidence is incomplete and could be improved by changes in task design and analyses, cross-validation of the conditions in calcium imaging, as well as the incorporation of control experiments to more definitively show it is indeed acetylcholine working in this circuit.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Otoacoustic emissions but not behavioral measurements predict cochlear nerve frequency tuning in an avian vocal communication specialist

    This article has 6 authors:

    1. Diana M Karosas
    2. Leslie Gonzales
    3. Yingxuan Wang
    4. Christopher Bergevin
    5. Laurel H Carney
    6. Kenneth S Henry

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      In contrast with mammals, measures of cochlear tuning in budgerigars do not match the frequency dependence of behavioral tuning. Earlier behavioral data in the budgerigar had shown good selectivity at around 3-4 kHz, but it was unknown whether this unusual selectivity arose in the inner ear or was a more central adaptation. The authors measured both auditory-nerve tuning curves and stimulus-frequency otoacoustic emissions and found fairly normal-looking cochlear tuning in the budgerigar. These important findings imply that any behavioral/perceptual differences in frequency selectivity are likely more central in original. These solid new data also provide significant support for the utility of otoacoustic estimates of cochlear tuning.

    Reviewed by eLife