eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Non-destructive in situ monitoring of structural changes of 3D tumor spheroids during the formation, migration, and fusion process

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Ke Ning
   2. Yuanyuan Xie
   3. Wen Sun
   4. Lingke Feng
   5. Can Fang
   6. Rong Pan
   7. Yan Li
   8. Ling Yu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The ingenious design in this study achieved the observation of 3D cell spheroids from an additional lateral view and gained more comprehensive information than the traditional one angle of imaging. This extended the methods to investigate cell behaviors in the growth or migration of tumor organoids in a time-lapse manner and these extensions should be important to the field. The authors provide compelling evidence that the methods work as described.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Eed controls craniofacial osteoblast differentiation and mesenchymal proliferation from the neural crest

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Tim Casey-Clyde
   2. S John Liu
   3. Angelo Pelonero
   4. Juan Antonio Camara Serrano
   5. Camilla Teng
   6. Yoon-Gu Jang
   7. Harish N Vasudevan
   8. Arun Padmanabhan
   9. Jeffrey Ohmann Bush
   10. David R Raleigh

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this valuable study, the authors used an elegant genetic approach to delete EED at the post-neural crest induction stage. The usage of the single-cell RNA-seq analysis method is extremely suitable to determine changes in the cell type-specific gene expression during development. Results backed by solid evidence demonstrate that Eed is required for craniofacial osteoblast differentiation and mesenchymal proliferation after the induction of the neural crest.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. A system for functional studies of the major virulence factor of malaria parasites

   This article has 20 authors:

   1. Jakob Cronshagen
   2. Johannes Allweier
   3. Joëlle Paolo Mesén-Ramírez
   4. Jan Stäcker
   5. Anna Viktoria Vaaben
   6. Gala Ramón-Zamorano
   7. Isabel Naranjo-Prado
   8. Max Graser
   9. Patricia López-Barona
   10. Susann Ofori
   11. Pascal WTC Jansen
   12. Joëlle Hornebeck
   13. Florian Kieferle
   14. Agnes Murk
   15. Elicia Martin
   16. Carolina Castro-Peña
   17. Richárd Bártfai
   18. Thomas Lavstsen
   19. Iris Bruchhaus
   20. Tobias Spielmann

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study introduces an important approach using selection linked integration (SLI) to generate Plasmodium falciparum lines expressing single, specific surface adhesins PfEMP1 variants, enabling precise study of PfEMP1 trafficking, receptor binding, and cytoadhesion. By moving the system to different parasite strains and introducing an advanced SLI2 system for additional genomic edits, this work provides compelling evidence for an innovative and rigorous platform to explore PfEMP1 biology and identify novel proteins essential for malaria pathogenesis including immune evasion.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Pleiotropy increases parallel selection signatures during adaptation from standing genetic variation

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Wei-Yun Lai
   2. Sheng-Kai Hsu
   3. Andreas Futschik
   4. Christian Schlötterer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study makes the important finding that pleiotropy is positively associated with parallelism of evolutionary responses in gene expression. This finding, if true, runs counter to current expectations in the field. The analysis uses state-of-the art experimental evolution approach to study the genetic basis of adaptation of Drosophila simulans to a hot environment. Although the experimental results are convincing, the theoretical model is incomplete, due to several unusual assumptions. It remains to be seen whether the main conclusion can be replicated in other contexts.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Low-dose chemotherapy combined with delayed immunotherapy in the neoadjuvant treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and dynamic monitoring of the drug response in peripheral blood

   This article has 20 authors:

   1. Chaoyang Liang
   2. Qi Song
   3. Wenhao Zhou
   4. Na Li
   5. Qi Xiong
   6. Chaohu Pan
   7. Shaohong Zhao
   8. Xiang Yan
   9. Xiaoling Zhang
   10. Yaping Long
   11. Juntang Guo
   12. Tao Wang
   13. Weiwei Shi
   14. Shengjie Sun
   15. Bo Yang
   16. Zhouhuan Dong
   17. Haitao Luo
   18. Jie Li
   19. Yi Hu
   20. Bo Yang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Liang et al. have conducted a small pilot study investigating the feasibility and tolerability of a regimen of neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer, with lower cumulative dose of chemotherapy and with the immunotherapy delivered on D8 of each cycle. The clinical data are interesting and novel, and overall the findings of the study are valuable. However, the translational data and analyses are incomplete and do not support key claims in the title.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Identification and characterization of early human photoreceptor states and cell-state-specific retinoblastoma-related features

   This article has 21 authors:

   1. Dominic WH Shayler
   2. Kevin Stachelek
   3. Linda Cambier
   4. Sunhye Lee
   5. Jinlun Bai
   6. Bhavana Bhat
   7. Mark W Reid
   8. Daniel J Weisenberger
   9. Jennifer G Aparicio
   10. Yeha Kim
   11. Mitali Singh
   12. Maxwell Bay
   13. Matthew E Thornton
   14. Eamon K Doyle
   15. Zachary Fouladian
   16. Stephan G Erberich
   17. Brendan H Grubbs
   18. Michael A Bonaguidi
   19. Cheryl Mae Craft
   20. Hardeep P Singh
   21. David Cobrinik

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this important paper, the authors use single-cell RNA sequencing to understand post-mitotic cone and rod developmental states and identify cone-specific features that contribute to retinoblastoma genesis. The authors report findings that have practical implications for retinal development, gene expression, and cell fate specification. The evidence is compelling as the experimental design and analysis are exceptionally rigorous.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Cdhr1a and pcdh15b may link photoreceptor outer segments with calyceal processes revealing a potential mechanism for cone-rod dystrophy

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Meet K Patel
   2. Warlen Pereira Piedade
   3. Jakub K Famulski

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study investigates the interaction of two integral membrane proteins (Cdhr1a and Pcdh15b) and their roles in cone-rod dystrophy. Convincing evidence using loss-of-function mutants demonstrates clearly that both proteins are required for cone maintenance and survival. Although some evidence (Western blots and cell aggregation assays) demonstrates Cdhr1a and Pcdh15b can physically interact, there is insufficient evidence to support the subcellular localization and the proposed heterodimeric interaction of the two proteins from distinct subcellular compartments in cone photoreceptors.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Integrator complex subunit 12 knockout overcomes a transcriptional block to HIV latency reversal

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Carley N Gray
   2. Manickam Ashokkumar
   3. Derek H Janssens
   4. Jennifer L Kirchherr
   5. Brigitte Allard
   6. Emily Hsieh
   7. Terry L Hafer
   8. Nancie M Archin
   9. Edward P Browne
   10. Michael Emerman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Using multiple techniques previously validated by the authors, this study identified INTS12, a component of the Integrator complex involved in 3' processing of small nuclear RNAs U1 and U2, as a factor promoting HIV-1 latency. The work is valuable, based on a sound strategy for screening targets to activate HIV latency and the solid mechanistic insights it provides on INTS12 repression of transcriptional elongation. Future studies are needed to explore INTS12 as a drug target against HIV/AIDS.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Molecular consequences of acute versus chronic CDK12 loss in prostate carcinoma nominates distinct therapeutic strategies

   This article has 21 authors:

   1. Sander Frank
   2. Thomas Persse
   3. Ilsa Coleman
   4. Armand Bankhead
   5. Dapei Li
   6. Navonil De-Sarkar
   7. Divin Wilson
   8. Dmytro Rudoy
   9. Manasvita Vashisth
   10. Patty Galipeau
   11. Michael Yang
   12. Brian Hanratty
   13. Ruth Dumpit
   14. Colm Morrissey
   15. Eva Corey
   16. R Bruce Montgomery
   17. Michael C Haffner
   18. Colin C Pritchard
   19. Valeri Vasioukhin
   20. Gavin Ha
   21. Peter S Nelson

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The paper is a fundamental study examining the role of CDK12 loss in prostate cancer. While previous studies have suggested that CDK12 loss confers HRD phenotypes, clinical trials using PARPi in CDK12 altered patients have not demonstrated significant benefit. This work investigates these mechanisms in depth and provides compelling evidence. A comprehensive genomic analysis serves an excellent resource to the field, showing that biallelic CDK12 alterations do not have genomic features of HRd. Moreover, the study explored both acute and chronic deletion of CDK12, with data suggestive of CDK12-altered cells being uniquely sensitive to CDK13 inhibition. While some minor weaknesses have been previously noted by the reviewers, the authors have adequately addressed these concerns with appropriate rigor.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Enhanced bacterial chemotaxis in confined microchannels occurs at lane widths matching circular swimming radius

    This article has 4 authors:

    1. Caijuan Yue
    2. Chi Zhang
    3. Rongjing Zhang
    4. Junhua Yuan

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This important work examines the effects of side-wall confinement on chemotaxis of swimming bacteria in a shallow microfluidic channel. The authors present convincing experimental evidence, combined with geometric analysis and numerical simulations of simplified models, showing that chemotaxis is enhanced when the distance between the side walls is comparable to the intrinsic radius of chiral circular swimming near open surfaces. This study should be of interest to scientists specializing in bacteria-surface interactions.

    Reviewed by eLife