eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Emergence of ion-channel-mediated electrical oscillations in Escherichia coli biofilms

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Emmanuel Akabuogu
   2. Victor Carneiro da Cunha Martorelli
   3. Rok Krašovec
   4. Ian S Roberts
   5. Thomas A Waigh

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This potentially valuable study presents claims of evidence for coordinated membrane potential oscillations in E. coli biofilms that can be linked to a putative K+ channel and that may serve to enhance photo-protection. The finding of waves of membrane potential would be of interest to a wide audience from molecular biology to microbiology and physical biology. Unfortunately, a major issue is that it is unclear whether the dye used can act as a Nernstian membrane potential dye in E. coli. The arguments of the authors, who largely ignore previously published contradictory evidence, are not adequate in that they do not engage with the fact that the dye behaves in their hands differently than in the hands of others. In addition, the lack of proper validation of the experimental method including key control experiments leaves the evidence incomplete.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Rabphilin-3A negatively regulates neuropeptide release, through its SNAP25 interaction

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Adlin Abramian
   2. Rein I Hoogstraaten
   3. Fiona H Murphy
   4. Kathryn F McDaniel
   5. Ruud F Toonen
   6. Matthijs Verhage

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study advances our understanding of the mechanisms of neuronal large dense-core vesicle (LDCV) secretion, which mediates neuropeptide and neurotrophin release. It describes a negative regulatory process involving the interaction of the Rab3-effector Rabphilin-3A with the SNARE fusion protein SNAP25, which limits LDCV secretion and neurite growth. The evidence in support of the authors' claims is generally convincing, but some conclusions, e.g regarding the role of Rabphilin-3A-controlled neurotrophin signaling in neurite growth, are incompletely supported. This study will be of interest to the fields of cell biology, cellular neuroscience, and neuroendocrinology.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Shaping the physical world to our ends through the left PF technical-cognition area

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. François Osiurak
   2. Giovanni Federico
   3. Arnaud Fournel
   4. Vivien Gaujoux
   5. Franck Lamberton
   6. Danièle Ibarrola
   7. Yves Rossetti
   8. Mathieu Lesourd

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study used functional MRI experiments to identify the involvement of a left parietal area (PF) in reasoning about the physical properties of actions, objects, and events. Solid evidence was shown regarding the commonalities and differences across different types of reasoning tasks, yet the methodological and theoretical interpretations require further scrutiny. The study would be of interest to researchers studying the cognitive and neural mechanisms of reasoning and problem solving.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Predicting individual traits from models of brain dynamics accurately and reliably using the Fisher kernel

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Christine Ahrends
   2. Mark W Woolrich
   3. Diego Vidaurre

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study combines the use of Fisher Kernels with Hidden Markov models aiming to improve brain-behaviour prediction. The evidence supporting the authors' conclusions is compelling, comparing brain-behaviour prediction accuracies across a range of different traits, including out of sample assessment. This work is timely and will be of interest to neuroscientists working on functional connectivity for brain-behaviour association.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Impaired myofibroblast proliferation is a central feature of pathologic post-natal alveolar simplification

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Imran S Khan
   2. Christopher Molina
   3. Xin Ren
   4. Vincent C Auyeung
   5. Max Cohen
   6. Tatsuya Tsukui
   7. Amha Atakilit
   8. Dean Sheppard

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides important insights into postnatal lung development and the mechanisms underlying bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a condition with high morbidity and mortality in newborns. Through the use of neonatal hyperoxia, cell-type-specific inactivation of Tgfbr2, and other injury models, the research focuses on the role of TGF-β signaling in BPD pathogenesis, highlighting impaired myofibroblast proliferation as a key factor. The inactivation of Etc2 in Pdgfra-lineaged cells disrupts myofibroblast cytokinesis, leading to alveolar simplification and reduced cell numbers. The use of transgenic mice and single-cell transcriptomics offers a detailed and high-quality dataset, advancing our understanding of BPD and serving as a invaluable resource for developmental biology and neonatal pulmonary research. The study's comprehensive approach, robust data, and methodological rigor make it a compelling contribution to the field, providing both mechanistic insights and a resource for further research into BPD pathogenesis.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Diverging roles of TRPV1 and TRPM2 in warm-temperature detection

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Muad Y Abd El Hay
   2. Gretel B Kamm
   3. Alejandro Tlaie Boria
   4. Jan Siemens

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this manuscript, Abd El Hay and colleagues use an innovative behavioral assay and analysis method, together with standard calcium imaging experiments on cultured dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, to evaluate the consequences of global knockout of TRPV1 and TRPM2, and overexpression of TRPV1, on warmth detection. Compelling evidence is provided for a role of TRPM2 channels in warmth avoidance behavior, but it remains unclear whether this involves channel activity in the periphery or in the brain. In contrast, TRPV1 is clearly implicated at the cellular level in warmth detection. These findings are important because there is substantial ongoing discussion regarding the contribution of TRP channels to different aspects of thermo-sensation.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Lateral/caudal ganglionic eminence makes limited contribution to cortical oligodendrocytes

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Jialin Li
   2. Feihong Yang
   3. Yu Tian
   4. Ziwu Wang
   5. Dashi Qi
   6. Zhengang Yang
   7. Jiangang Song
   8. Jing Ding
   9. Xin Wang
   10. Zhuangzhi Zhang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors provide solid evidence that any contribution of oligodendrocyte precursors to the developing cortex from the lateral ganglionic eminence is minimal in scope. The methods used support the conclusions, with some technical concerns that the authors can address with further experimentation. These are considered valuable additions to our understanding of the origins of oligodendrocytes in the forebrain during development.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Neutralizing gut-derived lipopolysaccharide as a novel therapeutic strategy for severe leptospirosis

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Xufeng Xie
   2. Xi Chen
   3. Shilei Zhang
   4. Jiuxi Liu
   5. Wenlong Zhang
   6. Yongguo Cao

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The gut microbiota influences many infectious diseases; however, its role Leptospirosis remains unclear. In this fundamental work, Xie et al. use a hamster model to show that Leptospira infection leads to gut pathology, an altered gut microbiota, and increased translocation. A combined use of antibiotics and LPS neutralization prolonged survival, providing a potential new therapeutic approach. This study utilizes compelling methods to provide new insights into this emerging disease, which could be dissected further in future studies aimed at gaining mechanistic insight and assessing the translational relevance of these discoveries.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Distinct T-cell receptor (TCR) gene segment usage and MHC-restriction between foetal and adult thymus

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Jasmine Rowell
   2. Ching-In Lau
   3. Susan Ross
   4. Diana C Yanez
   5. Oscar A Peña
   6. Benny Chain
   7. Tessa Crompton

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important manuscript provides an extensive and convincing analysis of the foetal and adult TCR repertoire in the mouse thymus. A potential implication of the work is that the earliest appearing T cells during ontogeny may have properties that are fundamentally distinct from those appearing later in life. The study will be of interest to immunologists concerned with T cell development and TCR repertoires.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Convergent epigenetic evolution drives relapse in acute myeloid leukemia

    This article has 8 authors:

    1. Kevin Nuno
    2. Armon Azizi
    3. Thomas Koehnke
    4. Caleb Lareau
    5. Asiri Ediriwickrema
    6. M Ryan Corces
    7. Ansuman T Satpathy
    8. Ravindra Majeti

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This important work substantially advances our understanding of how resistant leukemia can arise without changes in mutational patterns by displaying epigenetic changes. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, with rigorous genomic assays done on primary samples. and state-of-the-art microscopy. The work will be of broad interest to hematologists and cancer biologists.

    Reviewed by eLife