eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Salmonella exploits host- and bacterial-derived β-alanine for replication inside host macrophages

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Shuai Ma
   2. Bin Yang
   3. Yuyang Sun
   4. Xinyue Wang
   5. Houliang Guo
   6. Ruiying Liu
   7. Ting Ye
   8. Chenbo Kang
   9. Jingnan Chen
   10. Lingyan Jiang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The authors use a multidisciplinary approach to provide a link between Beta-alanine and S. Typhimurium (STM) infection and virulence. This valuable work shows how Beta-alanine synthesis mediates zinc homeostasis regulation, possibly contributing to virulence. The work is convincing as it adds to the existing knowledge of metabolic flexibility displayed by STM during infection.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. PDZ-directed substrate recruitment is the primary determinant of specific 4E-BP1 dephosphorylation by PP1-Neurabin

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Roman O Fedoryshchak
   2. Karim El-Bouri
   3. Dhira Joshi
   4. Stephane Mouilleron
   5. Richard Treisman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study reports on a basis for neurabin-mediated specification of substrate choice by protein phosphatase-1. The data from the comprehensive approach using structural, biochemical, and computational methods are compelling. This paper is broadly relevant to those investigating various cellular signaling cascades that entail phosphorylation as the main mechanism.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Estimating bone marrow adiposity from head MRI and identifying its genetic architecture

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Tobias Kaufmann
   2. Pål Marius Bjørnstad
   3. Martin Falck
   4. Stener Nerland
   5. Kevin O’Connell
   6. Oleksandr Frei
   7. Ole A Andreassen
   8. Lars T Westlye
   9. Srdjan Djurovic
   10. Timothy Hughes

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This solid paper reports on the use of artificial intelligence to assess bone marrow adipose tissue in the skull. The method employing MRI is novel and that approach allows for the identification of genetic loci that regulate this trait as well as others using data from the UK biobank. Overall this is an important contribution although the authors should consider several points: 1-validation of the T1-weighted MRI signal intensity; 2-further discussion of the sex differences; and 3-cross-trait linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) for osteoporosis, Parkinson's disease, and cognitive function.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Neurons throughout the brain embed robust signatures of their anatomical location into spike trains

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Gemechu Bekele Tolossa
   2. Aidan M Schneider
   3. Eva Dyer
   4. Keith B Hengen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This paper provides a useful systematic quantification of the relationship between electrophysiological response properties of single neurons with their position in the brain. The quality of the classification setup is high and the methodology is solid.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. The chromokinesin Kid (KIF22) forms a homodimer, moves processively along microtubules and transports double-strand DNA

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Shinsuke Niwa
   2. Natsuki Furusaki
   3. Tomoki Kita
   4. Yuki Suzuki
   5. Kyoko Chiba

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study clarifies the mechanism by which the kinesin-10 motor protein, chromosome-associated kinesin, Kid (KIF22), enables chromosome movement during mitosis, demonstrating that human and Xenopus Kid proteins function as processive, homodimeric kinesins capable of processive microtubule plus-end motility. The convincing work highlights that Kid can recruit and transport duplex DNA along microtubules via its conserved C-terminal DNA binding domain, revising our understanding of chromokinesins' role in chromosome motility during mitosis. Although the data are robust, the manuscript would benefit from some editing for clarity.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Early menarche and childbirth accelerate aging-related outcomes and age-related diseases: Evidence for antagonistic pleiotropy in humans

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Yifan Xiang
   2. Vineeta Tanwar
   3. Parminder Singh
   4. Lizellen La Follette
   5. Vikram Pratap Narayan
   6. Pankaj Kapahi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study uses Mendelian Randomization to provide evidence that early-life reproductive phenotypes (i.e., age at onset of menarche and age at first birth) have a significant impact on numerous health outcomes later in life. The empirical evidence provided by the authors supporting the antagonistic pleiotropy theory is solid. Theories of aging should be empirically tested and this study provides a good first step in that direction.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester protects Clostridioides difficile infection by toxin inhibition and microbiota modulation

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Yan Guo
   2. Yong Zhang
   3. Guizhen Wang
   4. Hongtao Liu
   5. Jianfeng Wang
   6. Xuming Deng
   7. Liuqin He
   8. Jiazhang Qiu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study by Guo and colleagues reports the inhibitory activity of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) against TcdB, a key toxin produced by Clostridioides difficile. C. difficile infections are a major public health concern, and this manuscript provides interesting data on toxin inhibition by CAPE, a potentially promising therapeutic alternative for this disease. The strength of the evidence to support the conclusions is solid, with some concerns about the moderate effects on the mouse infection model and direct binding assays of CAPE to the toxin.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Unravelling the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying counterconditioning in humans

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Lisa Wirz
   2. Maxime C Houtekamer
   3. Jette de Vos
   4. Joseph E Dunsmoor
   5. Judith Homberg
   6. Marloes JAG Henckens
   7. Erno Hermans

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important work combines self-report, neural and physiology data to examine the efficacy and mechanisms of counter conditioning versus extinction in reducing re-emergence of conditioned threat responses and show that this appears to rely on the nucleus accumbens rather than the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. These findings are supported by convincing evidence, though some areas could benefit from a few targeted refinements. The findings will be of interest to researchers across multiple subfields, including neuroscientists, cognitive theory researchers, and clinicians, particularly those with an interest in clinical applications in trauma therapies.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. A conformational fingerprint for amyloidogenic light chains

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Cristina Paissoni
   2. Sarita Puri
   3. Luca Broggini
   4. Manoj K Sriramoju
   5. Martina Maritan
   6. Rosaria Russo
   7. Valentina Speranzini
   8. Federico Ballabio
   9. Mario Nuvolone
   10. Giampaolo Merlini
   11. Giovanni Palladini
   12. Shang-Te Danny Hsu
   13. Stefano Ricagno
   14. Carlo Camilloni

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study addresses an important and longstanding question regarding the molecular mechanism of protein misfolding in Ig light chain (LC) amyloidosis (AL), a life-threatening condition. By combining advanced techniques, including small-angle X-ray scattering, molecular dynamics simulations, and hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry, the authors provide convincing evidence that the "H state" distinguishes amyloidogenic from non-amyloidogenic LCs. These findings not only offer novel insights into LC structural dynamics but also hold promise for guiding therapeutic strategies in amyloidosis and will be of particular interest to structural biologists, biophysicists, and many others working on amyloid diseases.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Single-cell characterization of menstrual fluid at homeostasis and in endometriosis

    This article has 10 authors:

    1. Petra C Schwalie
    2. Cemsel Bafligil
    3. Julie Russeil
    4. Magda Zachara
    5. Marjan Biocanin
    6. Daniel Alpern
    7. Evelin Aasna
    8. Bart Deplancke
    9. Geraldine Canny
    10. Angela Goncalves

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This basic research study presents useful data concerning the menstrual fluid composition and its potential for endometriosis biomarker research. However, despite solid bioinformatics analyses, the choice of markers used to separate or identify the different cell types needs to be justified and the results better discussed in relation to current knowledge of the pathophysiology of endometriosis.

    Reviewed by eLife