Latest preprint reviews

1. Enhanced bacterial chemotaxis in confined microchannels: Optimal performance in 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 valuable study examines the effects of side-wall confinement on the chemotaxis of swimming bacteria in a shallow microfluidic channel. The authors present solid 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 circular swimming near open surfaces. This study should be of interest to scientists specializing in bacteria-surface interactions.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Increased bone inflammation in type 2 diabetes and obesity correlates with Wnt signaling downregulation and reduced bone strength

   This article has 15 authors:

   1. Giulia Leanza
   2. Malak Faraj
   3. Francesca Cannata
   4. Viola Viola
   5. Niccolò Pellegrini
   6. Flavia Tramontana
   7. Claudio Pedone
   8. Gianluca Vadalà
   9. Alessandra Piccoli
   10. Rocky Strollo
   11. Francesca Zalfa
   12. Roberto Civitelli
   13. Mauro Maccarrone
   14. Rocco Papalia
   15. Nicola Napoli

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This is a convincing paper that addresses topics important in our understanding of how inflammatory markers are modulated in both obesity and type 2 diabetes and their effects on Wnt signaling mediators in human bone. There are changes in bone at the tissue level in these 2 common metabolic disorders that ultimately lead to compromised bone strength. These data will be critical to our understanding of the pathophysiology of skeletal fragility in obesity and diabetes.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. STAMBPL1 activates the GRHL3/HIF1A/VEGFA axis through interaction with FOXO1 to promote angiogenesis in triple-negative breast cancer

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Huan Fang
   2. Huichun Liang
   3. Chuanyu Yang
   4. Dewei Jiang
   5. Qianmei Luo
   6. Wenming Cao
   7. Huifeng Zhang
   8. Ceshi Chen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This article uncovers a new important role of STAMBPL1 in promoting angiogenesis in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and elucidates the specific mechanisms by which it activates the GRHL3/HIF1α/VEGFA axis through interaction with FOXO1. The finding that STAMBPL1 mediates GRHL3 transcription through the interaction with FOXO1 is novel. These experimental results corroborate each other, forming a solid foundation of evidence that supports the main findings of the article.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Molecular and spatial transcriptomic classification of midbrain dopamine neurons and their alterations in a LRRK2G2019S model of Parkinson’s disease

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Zachary Gaertner
   2. Cameron Oram
   3. Amanda Schneeweis
   4. Elan Schonfeld
   5. Cyril Bolduc
   6. Chuyu Chen
   7. Daniel Dombeck
   8. Loukia Parisiadou
   9. Jean Francois Poulin
   10. Rajeshwar Awatramani

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides important findings in characterizing dopamine neuron heterogeneity in the ventral midbrain. The strength of evidence is strong for a convincing classification, but claims related to the effects of G2019S-LRRK2 expression were considered more preliminary. The creation of an snRNA-seq exploration tool for these datasets should interest groups interested in understanding dopamine neuron subclass dynamics in behavior and diseases.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. HIF1A contributes to the survival of aneuploid and mosaic pre-implantation embryos

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Estefania Sanchez-Vasquez
   2. Marianne E. Bronner
   3. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Sanchez-Vasquez et al establish an innovative approach to induce aneuploidy in preimplantation embryos. This important study extends the author's previous publications evaluating the consequences of aneuploidy in the mammalian embryo. In this work, the authors investigate the developmental potential of aneuploid embryos and characterize changes in gene expression profiles under normoxic and hypoxic culture conditions. Using a solid methodology they identify sensitivity to Hif1alpha loss in aneuploid embryos, and in further convincing experiments they assess how levels of DNA damage and DNA repair are altered under hypoxic and normoxic conditions.

   Reviewed by eLife, preLights

6. An Advanced Bacterial Single-cell RNA-seq Reveals Biofilm Heterogeneity

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Yingying Pu
   2. Xiaodan Yan
   3. Hebin Liao
   4. Chenyi Wang
   5. Chun Huang
   6. Wei Zhang
   7. Chunming Guo

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This work introduces an important new method for depleting ribosomal RNA from bacterial single-cell RNA sequencing libraries, demonstrating its applicability for studying heterogeneity in microbial biofilms. The findings provide convincing evidence for a distinct subpopulation of cells at the biofilm base that upregulates PdeI expression. Future studies exploring the functional relationship between PdeI and c-di-GMP levels, along with the roles of co-expressed genes within the same cluster, could further enhance the depth and impact of these conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Information, certainty, and learning

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Justin A Harris
   2. CR Gallistel

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important paper shows that the acquisition and expression of Pavlovian conditioned responding are lawfully related to temporal characteristics of an animal's conditioning experience. It showcases a rigorous experimental design, several different approaches to data analysis, careful consideration of prior literature, and a thorough introduction. The evidence supporting the conclusions is strong and convincing. The paper will have a general appeal to those interested in the behavioral and neural analysis of Pavlovian conditioning.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. CXXC-finger protein 1 associates with FOXP3 to stabilize homeostasis and suppressive functions of regulatory T cells

   This article has 16 authors:

   1. Xiaoyu Meng
   2. Yezhang Zhu
   3. Kuai Liu
   4. Yuxi Wang
   5. Xiaoqian Liu
   6. Chenxin Liu
   7. Yan Zeng
   8. Shuai Wang
   9. Xianzhi Gao
   10. Xin Shen
   11. Jing Chen
   12. Sijue Tao
   13. Qianying Xu
   14. Linjia Dong
   15. Li Shen
   16. Lie Wang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents important findings on the role of CXXC-finger protein 1 in regulatory T cell gene regulation and function. The evidence supporting the authors' claims is solid, with mostly state-of-the-art technology, although the inclusion of more mechanistic insights would have strengthened the study. The work will be of relevance to immunologists interested in regulatory T cell biology and autoimmunity.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Emergence of alternative stable states in gene exchange communities

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Juken Hong
   2. Wenzhi Xue
   3. Teng Wang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript offers a modeling platform in which horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is incorporated into the ecological dynamics of microbial communities. The investigation is valuable as it brings to the forefront a potentially significant process and highlights its implications. However, the investigation in its current form is incomplete because it is based on a narrow range of parameters and assumptions. As a result, the scope and relevance of the findings are not fully clear. A more in-depth description of model assumptions and the formulation structure and a more thorough analysis of the impact of different parameters would strengthen the manuscript. This work will be of interest to microbiologists as well as researchers in ecological and evolutionary biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Layer 6 corticocortical cells dominate the anatomical organization of intra and interhemispheric feedback

    This article has 3 authors:

    1. Simon Weiler
    2. Manuel Teichert
    3. Troy W Margrie

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This important study compares the cortical projections to primary motor and sensory areas originating from the ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres. They find that, while there is substantial symmetry between the two hemispheres regarding the areas sending projections to these primary cortical areas, contra-hemispheric projections had more inputs from layer 6 neurons than ipsi-projecting ones. The evidence is convincing and most of the conclusions are supported by rigorous analyses.

    Reviewed by eLife