eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Engineered migrasomes provide a robust and thermally stable vaccination platform

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Dongju Wang
   2. Haifang Wang
   3. Wei Wan
   4. Zihui Zhu
   5. Takami Sho
   6. Yi Zheng
   7. Xing Zhang
   8. Longyu Dou
   9. Qiang Ding
   10. Li Yu
   11. Zhihua Liu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study, from the group that pioneered migrasome, describes a novel vaccine platform of engineered migrasomes that behave like natural migrasomes. Importantly, this platform has the potential to overcome obstacles associated with cold chain issues for vaccines such as mRNA. In the revised version, the authors have addressed previous concerns and the results from additional experiments provide compelling evidence that features methods, data, and analyses more rigorous than the current state-of-the-art. Although the findings are important with practical implications for the vaccine technology, results from additional experiments would make this an outstanding study.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Receptor tyrosine kinases CAD96CA and FGFR1 function as the cell membrane receptors of insect juvenile hormone

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Yan-Xue Li
   2. Xin-Le Kang
   3. Yan-Li Li
   4. Xiao-Pei Wang
   5. Qiao Yan
   6. Jin-Xing Wang
   7. Xiao-Fan Zhao

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this important study, Li and others identified cell membrane receptors for juvenile hormone (JH), a terpenoid hormone in insects that regulates their development and reproduction. While intracellular receptors for JH are well characterized, membrane receptors for JH have remained elusive for many years. The authors provide convincing evidence indicating that two receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), CAD96CA and FGFR1, modulate the genomic effects of JH by phosphorylating the intracellular receptors in the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera. Although differential functions of the two RTKs and potential effects of the other endogenous ligands of these RTKs on JH signaling remain unclear, this study lays a foundation for future studies.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Cytoneme-mediated intercellular signaling in keratinocytes is essential for epidermal remodeling in zebrafish

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Yi Wang
   2. Thomas Nguyen
   3. Qingan He
   4. Oliver Has
   5. Kiarash Forouzesh
   6. Dae Seok Eom

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This is a valuable study showing that differentiated cells of the zebrafish skin form membrane protrusions called cytonemes that contact and likely transmit Notch signals to cells of the undifferentiated layer below. The data are convincing that cytoneme like protrusions from the periderm are required for proper periderm structure, proliferation, gene expression, and Notch signaling. Evidence that inflammatory signaling through IL-17 affects epidermal differentiation, Notch and cytoneme formation is solid, but whether these are through a single common or two parallel pathways requires further investigation.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. MOB rules: Antibiotic Exposure Reprograms Metabolism to Mobilize Bacillus subtilis in Competitive Interactions

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Yongjin Liu
   2. Sandra LaBonte
   3. Courtney Brake
   4. Carol LaFayette
   5. Adam P. Rosebrock
   6. Amy A. Caudy
   7. Paul D. Straight

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This paper reports on the transcriptional changes upon chloramphenicol-induced surface mobility of Bacillus subtilis, a phenomenon that can occur during co-incubation with Streptomyces venezuelae, a chloramphenicol producer. The work presented includes valuable and thorough transcriptomics data, which convincingly indicate that sub-lethal chloramphenicol triggers substantial changes in B. subtilis gene expression. There are, however, significant limitations and concerns whether the documented changes are causal for the phenotypes observed or simply correlated with these phenotypes; additionally, the notion that chloramphenicol triggers a 'division of labor' was incomplete and should be backed up experimentally.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. A packaging signal-binding protein regulates the assembly checkpoint of integrative filamentous phages

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Ting-Yu Yeh
   2. Michael C. Feehley
   3. Patrick J. Feehley
   4. Vivian Y. Ooi
   5. Yi-Yung Hung
   6. Shao-Cheng Wang
   7. Gregory P. Contreras

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable work describes a new protein factor that is required for filamentous phage assembly. Convincing evidence is provided for the binding of PSB15 to the packaging signal of the single-stranded DNA, Trx, and cardiolipin, and a mechanism for how the phage DNA is targeted to the assembly site in the bacterial inner membrane is presented. The work will be of interest to microbiologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Observational activation of anterior cingulate cortical neurons coordinates hippocampal replay in social learning

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Xiang Mou
   2. Daoyun Ji

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides convincing evidence of coordinated spiking activity of neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and correlated activity in the CA1 subregion of the hippocampus, during observational learning. The authors also show coordinated ACC-CA1 neural activity during rest periods prior to the performance of the observationally learned task. The important findings significantly advance the field's understanding of neural mechanisms underlying social learning.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. A ventral hippocampal-lateral septum pathway regulates social novelty preference

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Maha Rashid
   2. Sarah Thomas
   3. Jennifer Isaac
   4. Sonia Corbett Karkare
   5. Hannah Klein
   6. Malavika Murugan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important manuscript uses circuit mapping, chemogenetics, and optogenetics to demonstrate a novel hippocampal lateral septal circuit that regulates social novelty behaviours and shows that downstream of the hippocampal septal circuit, septal projections to the ventral tegmental area are necessary for general novelty discrimination. The strength of the evidence supporting the claims is convincing but would be strengthened by the inclusion of additional functional assays. The work will be of interest to systems and behavioural neuroscientists who are interested in the brain mechanisms of social behaviours.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Spatiotemporal changes in Netrin/Dscam1 signaling dictate axonal projection direction in Drosophila small ventral lateral clock neurons

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Jingjing Liu
   2. Yuedong Wang
   3. Xian Liu
   4. Junhai Han
   5. Yao Tian

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study provides insights into the mechanism of axonal directional changes, utilizing the pacemaker neurons of the circadian clock, the sLNVs, as a model system. The data were collected and analysed using solid methodology, resulting in valuable data on the interplay of signalling pathways and the growth of the axon. The study holds potential interest for neurobiologists focusing on axonal growth and development.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Anti-drift pose tracker (ADPT), a transformer-based network for robust animal pose estimation cross-species

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Guoling Tang
   2. Yaning Han
   3. Xing Sun
   4. Ruonan Zhang
   5. Ming-Hu Han
   6. Quanying Liu
   7. Pengfei Wei

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This useful study introduces a deep learning-based algorithm that tracks animal postures with reduced drift by incorporating transformers for more robust keypoint detection. The efficacy of this new algorithm for single-animal pose estimation was demonstrated through comparisons with two popular algorithms. The strength of evidence is solid but would benefit from consideration of issues in multi-animal tracking. This work will be of interest to those interested in animal behavior tracking.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Mitochondrial stress in GABAergic neurons non-cell autonomously regulates organismal health and aging

    This article has 11 authors:

    1. Laxmi Rathor
    2. Shayla Curry
    3. Youngyong Park
    4. Taylor McElroy
    5. Briana Robles
    6. Yi Sheng
    7. Wei-Wen Chen
    8. Kisuk Min
    9. Rui Xiao
    10. Myon Hee Lee
    11. Sung Min Han

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This study interrogates cell non-autonomous signaling between GABAergic neurons and somatic tissues in the nematode C. elegans. The authors report that mitochondrial stress in only GABAergic neurons extends lifespan and improves healthspan, phenotypes that are dependent on the transcription factor daf-16/FOXO3a. However, while the findings may be valuable to furthering our understanding of neuronal control of aging and health, the current evidence is incomplete and additional experiments are needed to support their claims.

    Reviewed by eLife