eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Analysis of SMAD1/5 target genes in a sea anemone reveals ZSWIM4-6 as a novel BMP signaling modulator

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Paul Knabl
   2. Alexandra Schauer
   3. Autumn P Pomreinke
   4. Bob Zimmermann
   5. Katherine W Rogers
   6. Daniel Čapek
   7. Patrick Müller
   8. Grigory Genikhovich

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important work presents a systematic survey of downstream target genes of the BMP pathway during body-axis establishment of the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis. BMP is a well-known developmental regulator, and this work identifies a previously unknown array of downstream targets. Combining genomic approaches and genetic manipulations, the authors present convincing evidence that Zswim4-6 acts as a negative feedback regulator of BMP activity in Nematostella. The authors also test a zebrafish homologue in over-expression assays and show solid evidence that it too dampens BMP signaling activity, leading to the suggestion that zswim4-6 is a conserved regulator of BMP signaling. This work will be of interest to researchers in the fields of both developmental biology and evo-devo.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Nucleosome conformation dictates the histone code

   This article has 23 authors:

   1. Matthew R Marunde
   2. Harrison A Fuchs
   3. Jonathan M Burg
   4. Irina K Popova
   5. Anup Vaidya
   6. Nathan W Hall
   7. Ellen N Weinzapfel
   8. Matthew J Meiners
   9. Rachel Watson
   10. Zachary B Gillespie
   11. Hailey F Taylor
   12. Laylo Mukhsinova
   13. Ugochi C Onuoha
   14. Sarah A Howard
   15. Katherine Novitzky
   16. Eileen T McAnarney
   17. Krzysztof Krajewski
   18. Martis W Cowles
   19. Marcus A Cheek
   20. Zu-Wen Sun
   21. Bryan J Venters
   22. Michael-C Keogh
   23. Catherine A Musselman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The manuscript investigates how the tandem reader domains in BPTF co-recognize two types of modifications present on histone tails, H3K4me3 and H3 acetylation. The authors interpret their results in the context of the conformational restriction of histone tails due to interactions with nucleosomal DNA. The findings contribute new insights into how the nucleosomal context regulates the recognition of multiple histone modifications by tandem reader domains and should be of interest to the broader chromatin field.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Serial attentional resource allocation during parallel feature value tracking

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Christian Merkel
   2. Luise Burgmann
   3. Mandy Viktoria Bartsch
   4. Mircea Ariel Schoenfeld
   5. Jens-Max Hopf

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents an important finding on the serial attentional resource allocation during parallel feature value tracking. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid, although further clarification for high-/low-precision assigning, task effectivity of active tracking, and data analysis would have strengthened the study. The work will be of broad interest to psychology and cognitive science.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Ferredoxin 1 is essential for embryonic development and lipid homeostasis

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Shakur Mohibi
   2. Yanhong Zhang
   3. Vivian Perng
   4. Mingyi Chen
   5. Jin Zhang
   6. Xinbin Chen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The findings provided by Mohibi et al. are important to the field of lipid metabolism and cancer and provide insight for an in vivo role of FDX1. The evidence is solid, utilizing multiple modalities and both in vitro and in vivo lines of investigation.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Core PCP mutations affect short time mechanical properties but not tissue morphogenesis in the Drosophila pupal wing

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Romina Piscitello-Gómez
   2. Franz S Gruber
   3. Abhijeet Krishna
   4. Charlie Duclut
   5. Carl D Modes
   6. Marko Popović
   7. Frank Jülicher
   8. Natalie A Dye
   9. Suzanne Eaton

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study provides a combination of experiment and theory to investigate the role of a key signalling pathway as a patterning guide for local and global mechanical properties in a developing tissue. It poses solid evidence that local dynamical effects are not necessarily predictive of global tissue mechanics, although it does not offer an alternative mechanistic explanation. This multidisciplinary work will likely have an impact on the fields of tissue mechanics and developmental biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Glycan-shielded homodimer structure and dynamical features of the canine distemper virus hemagglutinin relevant for viral entry and efficient vaccination

   This article has 19 authors:

   1. Hideo Fukuhara
   2. Kohei Yumoto
   3. Miyuki Sako
   4. Mizuho Kajikawa
   5. Toyoyuki Ose
   6. Mihiro Kawamura
   7. Mei Yoda
   8. Surui Chen
   9. Yuri Ito
   10. Shin Takeda
   11. Mwila Mwaba
   12. Jiaqi Wang
   13. Takao Hashiguchi
   14. Jun Kamishikiryo
   15. Nobuo Maita
   16. Chihiro Kitatsuji
   17. Makoto Takeda
   18. Kimiko Kuroki
   19. Katsumi Maenaka

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The manuscript presents valuable findings, using solid techniques and approaches, that shed additional light into how the canine distemper virus (CDV) hemagglutinin might engage cellular receptors and how that engagement impacts host tropism. The structural data and their analysis were thorough and well-presented. The HS-AFM data, which indicate that homodimers may dissociate into monomers - and thus have significant implications for the model of fusion triggering - are very exciting, but require further validation, perhaps by alternate approaches, to bolster the current molecular model of the CDV fusion triggering.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. FMNL2 regulates actin for endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria distribution in oocyte meiosis

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Meng-Hao Pan
   2. Kun-Huan Zhang
   3. Si-Le Wu
   4. Zhen-Nan Pan
   5. Ming-Hong Sun
   6. Xiao-Han Li
   7. Jia-Qian Ju
   8. Shi-Ming Luo
   9. Xiang-Hong Ou
   10. Shao-Chen Sun

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents useful findings regarding the role of formin-like 2 in mouse oocyte meiosis. Some of the data are supported by incomplete methodological details and analyses, and several conclusions are overstated. This paper would be of interest to reproductive biologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Inhibition of miR-199b-5p reduces pathological alterations in osteoarthritis by potentially targeting Fzd6 and Gcnt2

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Tong Feng
   2. Qi Zhang
   3. Si-Hui Li
   4. Yan-ling Ping
   5. Mu-qiu Tian
   6. Shuan-hu Zhou
   7. Xin Wang
   8. Jun-Meng Wang
   9. Fan-Rang Liang
   10. Shu-Guang Yu
   11. Qiao-Feng Wu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study reports that miR-199b-5p is elevated in human osteoarthritis patients. There is solid evidence for the finding that inhibiting miR-199b-5p alleviates symptoms in mice with knee osteoarthritis. Additionally, potential targets of miR-199b-5p are identified but whether miR-199b-5p truly functions through Fzd6 and/or Gcnt2 requires further investigation.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Developmental conversion of thymocyte-attracting cells into self-antigen-displaying cells in embryonic thymus medulla epithelium

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Izumi Ohigashi
   2. Andrea J White
   3. Mei-Ting Yang
   4. Sayumi Fujimori
   5. Yu Tanaka
   6. Alison Jacques
   7. Hiroshi Kiyonari
   8. Yosuke Matsushita
   9. Sevilay Turan
   10. Michael C Kelly
   11. Graham Anderson
   12. Yousuke Takahama

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study provides new insights into the development and function of medullary thymus epithelial cells (mTEC). The authors provide compelling evidence to support their claims as to the differentiation and lineage outcomes of CCL21+ mTEC progenitors, which further our understanding of how central tolerance of T cells is enforced within the thymus.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Liver microRNA transcriptome reveals miR-182 as link between type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease in obesity

    This article has 19 authors:

    1. Christin Krause
    2. Jan H Britsemmer
    3. Miriam Bernecker
    4. Anna Molenaar
    5. Natalie Taege
    6. Nuria Lopez-Alcantara
    7. Cathleen Geißler
    8. Meike Kaehler
    9. Katharina Iben
    10. Anna Judycka
    11. Jonas Wagner
    12. Stefan Wolter
    13. Oliver Mann
    14. Paul Pfluger
    15. Ingolf Cascorbi
    16. Hendrik Lehnert
    17. Kerstin Stemmer
    18. Sonja C Schriever
    19. Henriette Kirchner

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      Building on on the observation of an increase in miR-182-5p in diabetic patients, the authors investigated the role of miR-182-5p and its target gene LRP6 in dysregulated glucose tolerance and fatty acid metabolism in obese type 2 diabetics. The use of human livers complemented by supporting data in mice and cells are strengths, but the evidence presented remains incomplete. The findings provide valuable insights into the role of miRNAs in the regulation of liver metabolism and insulin sensitivity in individuals with diabetes and fatty liver disease.

    Reviewed by eLife