eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Nociceptor neurons control pollution-mediated neutrophilic asthma

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Jo-Chiao Wang
   2. Amelia Kulle
   3. Theo Crosson
   4. Amin Reza Nikpoor
   5. Surbhi Gupta
   6. Anais Roger
   7. Moutih Rafei
   8. Ajitha Thanabalasuriar
   9. Sebastien Talbot

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important work shows that fine particulate matter exposure to the lungs led to nociceptor-dependent neutrophilic inflammation. Likely macrophage-neuronal crosstalk, via release of artemin from macrophages and activation of Gfra3 on the JNC neuron, potentiated the response. The data convincingly strengthens links between pollutants, immune and neural interactions.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Nuclear Argonaute protein NRDE-3 switches small RNA partners during embryogenesis to mediate temporal-specific gene regulatory activity

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Shihui Chen
   2. Carolyn Marie Phillips

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The study by Chen and Phillips provides evidence for a dynamic switch in the small RNA repertoire of the Argonaute protein NRDE-3 during embryogenesis in C. elegans. The work is supported by convincing experimental data, shedding light on RNA regulation during development. While the functional relevance of this process warrants further investigation, this study provides valuable insights into small RNA pathways with broader implications for developmental biology and gene regulation in other systems.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Identification of the trail-following pheromone receptor in termites

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Souleymane Diallo
   2. Kateřina Kašparová
   3. Josef Šulc
   4. Jibin Johny
   5. Jan Křivánek
   6. Jana Nebesářová
   7. David Sillam-Dussès
   8. Pavlína Kyjaková
   9. Jiří Vondrášek
   10. Aleš Machara
   11. Ondřej Lukšan
   12. Ewald Grosse-Wilde
   13. Robert Hanus

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important work by Diallo et al. substantially advances our understanding of the chemosensory system of a non-hymenopteran eusocial insect by identifying the first olfactory receptor for the trail pheromone in termites. The evidence supporting the conclusions that the receptor PsimOR14 is very narrowly tuned for the pheromone neocembrene is compelling. The work will be of broad interest to entomologists, chemical ecologists, neuroscientists, and molecular biologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Aberration correction in long GRIN lens-based microendoscopes for extended field-of-view two-photon imaging in deep brain regions

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Andrea Sattin
   2. Chiara Nardin
   3. Simon Daste
   4. Monica Moroni
   5. Innem Reddy
   6. Carlo Liberale
   7. Stefano Panzeri
   8. Alexander Fleischmann
   9. Tommaso Fellin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study builds on previous work by the authors by presenting a potentially key method for correcting optical aberrations in GRIN lens-based microendoscopes used for imaging deep brain regions. By combining simulations and experiments, the authors provide convincing evidence showing that the obtained field of view is significantly increased with corrected, versus uncorrected microendoscopes. Because the approach described in this paper does not require any microscope or software modifications, it can be readily adopted by neuroscientists who wish to image neuronal activity deep in the brain.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Distinct gradients of cortical architecture capture visual representations and behavior across the lifespan

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Xiayu Chen
   2. Xingyu Liu
   3. Patricia Maria Hoyos
   4. Edan Daniel Hertz
   5. Jewelia K Yao
   6. Zonglei Zhen
   7. Jesse Gomez

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides a valuable perspective on visual cortex architecture by identifying two cortical gradients that change across the lifespan and have distinct functional and structural features. The first gradient captures well-mapped variations in cortical thickness and myelination markers from early sensory to higher-order cortex, while the second gradient shows divergence in these measures with a more localized structure, notably predicting a previously unknown cluster of visual field maps in the anterior temporal lobe. The large-scale lifespan data are compelling, but the evidence overall is incomplete with key questions around methodical checks and implementation, the standard of evidence for the new visual maps, and how the gradient model relates to sharp tissue boundaries parcellating the cortex.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Prolonged Pain Reliably Slows Peak Alpha Frequency by Reducing Fast Alpha Power

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Andrew J Furman
   2. Mariya Prokhorenko
   3. Michael L Keaser
   4. Jing Zhang
   5. Shuo Chen
   6. Ali Mazaheri
   7. David A Seminowicz

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents valuable findings on changes in neuronal alpha activity elicited by prolonged pain in healthy human participants. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors, however, is incomplete and would benefit from clarifications of analytical strategies, additional statistical analyses, and shaping of the interpretations. With the methodological and interpretative parts strengthened, the work will be of interest to neuroscientists investigating the brain mechanisms of pain to identify new approaches to pain treatment

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Membrane potential modulates ERK activity and cell proliferation in human cells

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Mari Sasaki
   2. Masanobu Nakahara
   3. Takuya Hashiguchi
   4. Fumihito Ono

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important paper employs multiple experimental approaches and presents evidence that changes in membrane voltage directly affect ERK signaling to regulate cell division. This result is relevant because it supports an ion channel-independent pathway by which changes in membrane voltage can affect cell growth. The evidence now presented is solid and the data support the conclusions. This paper should be of interest to a broad readershp in the areas of cell and developemental biology and electrophysiology.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. 3D reconstruction of neuronal allometry and neuromuscular projections in asexual planarians using expansion tiling light sheet microscopy

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Jing Lu
   2. Hao Xu
   3. Dongyue Wang
   4. Yanlu Chen
   5. Takeshi Inoue
   6. Liang Gao
   7. Kai Lei

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Lu and colleagues developed an important imaging protocol that combines expansion microscopy, light-sheet microscopy, and image segmentation for use with the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea, a powerful model system for regeneration. This represents a substantial improvement on current standards and enables more rapid data acquisition. The utility of this solid protocol is demonstrated by quantifying several aspects of this flatworm's neural anatomy and musculature during homeostasis and regeneration. This work will be of interest to researchers looking to implement more systematic approaches towards imaging and quantifying intact specimens.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Accurate predictions of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity from comprehensive analysis

   This article has 17 authors:

   1. Jongkeun Park
   2. WonJong Choi
   3. Do Young Seong
   4. Seungpil Jeong
   5. Ju Young Lee
   6. Hyo Jeong Park
   7. Dae Sun Chung
   8. Kijong Yi
   9. Uijin Kim
   10. Ga-Yeon Yoon
   11. Hyeran Kim
   12. Taehoon Kim
   13. Sooyeon Ko
   14. Eun Jeong Min
   15. Hyun-Soo Cho
   16. Nam-Hyuk Cho
   17. Dongwan Hong

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The study provides valuable insight into the biological significance of SARS-CoV-2 by using a series of computational analyses of viral proteins. While the evidence is solid, the reviewers noted a lack of clarity about the objectives of the analyses. While impactful for the field, the manuscript would benefit from improved presentation.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Modulation of aperiodic EEG activity provides sensitive index of cognitive state changes during working memory task

    This article has 5 authors:

    1. Tisa Frelih
    2. Andraž Matkovič
    3. Tjaša Mlinarič
    4. Jurij Bon
    5. Grega Repovš

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This valuable work explores the timely idea that aperiodic activity in human electrophysiology recordings is dynamically modulated in response to task events in a manner that may be relevant for behavioral performance. Moreover, the authors present solid evidence that, in some circumstances, these aperiodic changes might be misinterpreted as oscillatory changes.

    Reviewed by eLife