eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. BCAS2 promotes primitive hematopoiesis by sequestering β-catenin within the nucleus

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Guozhu Ning
   2. Yu Lin
   3. Haixia Ma
   4. Jiaqi Zhang
   5. Liping Yang
   6. Zhengyu Liu
   7. Lei Li
   8. Xinyu He
   9. Qiang Wang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important work supports the role of breast carcinoma amplified sequence 2 (Bcas2) in positively regulating primitive wave hematopoiesis through amplification of beta-catenin-dependent (canonical) Wnt signaling. The study is convincing: it uses appropriate and validated methodology in line with the current state-of-the-art, and there is a first-rate analysis of a strong phenotype with highly supportive mechanistic data. The findings shed light on the controversial question of whether, when, and how canonical Wnt signaling may be involved in hematopoietic development. The work will be of interest to hematologists and developmental biologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Integration of ATAC and RNA-sequencing identifies chromatin and transcriptomic signatures in classical and non-classical zebrafish osteoblasts and indicates mechanisms of entpd5a regulation

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Kleio Petratou
   2. Martin Stehling
   3. Ferenc Müller
   4. Stefan Schulte-Merker

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This fundamental work describes for the first time the combined gene expression and chromatin structure at the genome level in isolated chondrocytes and classical (cranial) and non-classical (notochordal) osteoblasts. In a compelling analysis of RNA-Seq and ATAC data, the authors characterize the two osteoblast populations relative to their associated chondrocyte cells and further proceed with a convincing analysis of the crucial entpd5a gene regulatory elements by investigating their respective transcriptional activity and specificity in developing zebrafish.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. WNKs regulate mouse behavior and alter central nervous system glucose uptake and insulin signaling

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Ankita B Jaykumar
   2. Derk Binns
   3. Clinton A Taylor
   4. Anthony Anselmo
   5. Sachith Gallolu Kankanamalage
   6. Shari G Birnbaum
   7. Kimberly M Huber
   8. Melanie H Cobb

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study seeks to expand the understanding of insulin and glucose responses in the brain, specifically by implicating a family of protein kinases responsive to insulin. The significance of the study to the field is valuable, given this study is very emblematic of the new field of interoception (Brain-Body physiology). The evidence supporting the conclusions about brain glucose utilization is convincing and is relevant to many age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's disorder.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. APP β-CTF triggers cell-autonomous synaptic toxicity independent of Aβ

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Mengxun Luo
   2. Jia Zhou
   3. Cailu Sun
   4. Wanjia Chen
   5. Chaoying Fu
   6. Chenfang Si
   7. Yaoyang Zhang
   8. Yang Geng
   9. Yelin Chen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents a useful demonstration that a specific protein fragment may induce the loss of synapses in Alzheimer's disease. The evidence supporting the data is solid but only partially supports the conclusion and would benefit from additional discussion indicated by the literature from reviewer #1. The application of the findings is limited because blocking the formation of the protein fragment has not benefited patients in several clinical trials.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Translatome analysis reveals cellular network in DLK-dependent hippocampal glutamatergic neuron degeneration

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Erin M Ritchie
   2. Dilan Acar
   3. Siming Zhong
   4. Qianyi Pu
   5. Yunbo Li
   6. Binhai Zheng
   7. Yishi Jin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript describes the impact of modulating signaling by a key regulatory enzyme, Dual Leucine Zipper Kinase (DLK), on hippocampal neurons. The results are interesting and will be important for scientists interested in synapse formation, axon specification, and cell death. The authors have carefully addressed the comments made by the reviewers and the findings are convincing in large part due to the use of extensive mouse genetics, detailed gene expression of enriched genes, and recognition of neuron vulnerability.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. α/β-Hydrolase domain-containing 6 (ABHD6) accelerates the desensitization and deactivation of TARP γ-2-containing AMPA receptors

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Rixu Cong
   2. Huiran Li
   3. Hong Yang
   4. Jing Gu
   5. Shanshan Wang
   6. Xiangyu Guan
   7. Tangyunfei Su
   8. Yunlin Zheng
   9. Dianchun Wang
   10. Xinran Chen
   11. Lei Yang
   12. Yun Stone Shi
   13. Mengping Wei
   14. Chen Zhang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This fundamental work demonstrates that ABHD6 regulates AMPAR gating kinetics in a TARP γ-2-dependent manner. The evidence in this study is compelling. This study will be of interest to readers in the field of synaptic transmission.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Cryo-electron tomography reveals the microtubule-bound form of inactive LRRK2

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Siyu Chen
   2. Tamar Basiashvili
   3. Joshua Hutchings
   4. Marta Sanz Murillo
   5. Amalia Villagran Suarez
   6. Erica Xiong
   7. Jaime Alegrio Louro
   8. Andres E Leschziner
   9. Elizabeth Villa

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this manuscript, Chen et al. used cryo-ET and in vitro reconstituted system to demonstrate that the autoinhibited form of LRRK2 can also assemble into filaments on the microtubule surface, with a new interface involving the N-terminal repeats that were disordered in the previous active-LRRK2 filament structure. The structure obtained in this study is the highest resolution of LRRK2 filaments done by subtomogram averaging, representing a major technical advance compared to the previous paper from the same group. This is an important study, especially considering the pharmacological implications of the effect of inhibitors of the protein. The strengths of the data are convincing, but the study would be considerably strengthened if the authors explored the physiological significance of the new interfaces and the incomplete decoration of microtubules described here.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Human birth tissue products as a non-opioid medicine to inhibit post-surgical pain

   This article has 24 authors:

   1. Chi Zhang
   2. Qian Huang
   3. Neil C Ford
   4. Nathachit Limjunyawong
   5. Qing Lin
   6. Fei Yang
   7. Xiang Cui
   8. Ankit Uniyal
   9. Jing Liu
   10. Megha Mahabole
   11. Hua He
   12. Xuewei Wang
   13. Irina Duff
   14. Yiru Wang
   15. Jieru Wan
   16. Guangwu Zhu
   17. Srinivasa N Raja
   18. Hongpeng Jia
   19. Dazhi Yang
   20. Xinzhong Dong
   21. Xu Cao
   22. Scheffer C Tseng
   23. Shaoqiu He
   24. Yun Guan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The authors provide convincing data that identify a novel, non-opioid biologic from human birth tissue products with anti-nociceptive properties in a preclinical mouse model of surgical pain. This important study highlights the potential use of naturally derived biologics from human birth tissues as safe and sustainable pain treatment options that do not possess the adverse side effects associated with opioids and synthetic pharmaceuticals. Whether these results will translate to the clinic remains to be seen, nevertheless, these preclinical findings are promising.

   Reviewed by eLife, Arcadia Science

9. Age-related changes in ‘cortical’ 1/f dynamics are linked to cardiac activity

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Fabian Schmidt
   2. Sarah K Danböck
   3. Eugen Trinka
   4. Dominic P Klein
   5. Gianpaolo Demarchi
   6. Nathan Weisz

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Examination of (a)periodic brain activity has gained particular interest in the last few years in the neuroscience fields relating to cognition, disorders, and brain states. Using large EEG/MEG datasets from younger and older adults, the current study provides compelling evidence that age-related differences in aperiodic EEG/MEG signals can be driven by cardiac rather than brain activity. Their findings have important implications for all future research that aims to assess aperiodic neural activity, suggesting control for the influence of cardiac signals is essential.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. The effects of 17α-estradiol treatment on endocrine system revealed by single-nucleus transcriptomic sequencing of hypothalamus

    This article has 11 authors:

    1. Lei Li
    2. Guanghao Wu
    3. Xiaolei Xu
    4. Junling Yang
    5. Lirong Yi
    6. Ziqing Yang
    7. Zheng Mo
    8. Li Xing
    9. Ying Shan
    10. Zhuo Yu
    11. Yinchuan Li

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This study demonstrates the potential role of 17α-estradiol in modulating neuronal gene expression in the aged hypothalamus of male rats, identifying key pathways and neuron subtypes affected by the drug. While the findings are useful and provide a foundation for future research, the strength of supporting evidence is incomplete due to the lack of female comparison, a young male control group, unclear link to 17α-estradiol lifespan extension in rats, and insufficient analysis of glial cells and cellular stress in CRH neurons.

    Reviewed by eLife