eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Deep learning insights into the architecture of the mammalian egg-sperm fusion synapse

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Arne Elofsson
   2. Ling Han
   3. Enrica Bianchi
   4. Gavin J Wright
   5. Luca Jovine

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study offers valuable insights into the structural architecture of the mammalian egg-sperm fusion synapse, shedding light on the role of specific proteins in fertilization. The significance of the findings lies in the potential identification of a pentameric complex involved in gamete fusion by AlphaFold Multimer. The strength of evidence for the approach/methodology is solid, while the experimental validation is incomplete in supporting these interactions. This work will be of interest to biomedical researchers working on fertility and reproductive health.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Dynamics of macrophage polarization support Salmonella persistence in a whole living organism

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Jade Leiba
   2. Tamara Sipka
   3. Christina Begon-Pescia
   4. Matteo Bernardello
   5. Sofiane Tairi
   6. Lionello Bossi
   7. Anne-Alicia Gonzalez
   8. Xavier Mialhe
   9. Emilio J Gualda
   10. Pablo Loza-Alvarez
   11. Anne Blanc-Potard
   12. Georges Lutfalla
   13. Mai E Nguyen-Chi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This useful study introduces the development of Salmonella infection model in zebrafish embryos as an important model to study the interaction between macrophages and Salmonella during in vivo infection. Overall, the data presented are convincing and provide an inventory of genes mediating macrophage cell-cell adhesion and interactions that are useful for dissecting tissue macrophage responses and heterogeneity during intracellular bacterial infection. This is important to characterize the infection outcome and the dynamics of the immune response. The work will be of interest to microbiologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. A chromatic feature detector in the retina signals visual context changes

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Larissa Höfling
   2. Klaudia P Szatko
   3. Christian Behrens
   4. Yuyao Deng
   5. Yongrong Qiu
   6. David Alexander Klindt
   7. Zachary Jessen
   8. Gregory W Schwartz
   9. Matthias Bethge
   10. Philipp Berens
   11. Katrin Franke
   12. Alexander S Ecker
   13. Thomas Euler

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This paper makes a valuable contribution to approaches to studying the stimulus selectivity of sensory neurons. The imaging data that forms the core of the paper is compelling, but the evidence for some of the conclusions reached is limited. A central issue is a reliance on linear measures of stimulus selectivity, which may miss key aspects of retinal coding.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. The push–pull intercrop Desmodium does not repel, but intercepts and kills pests

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Anna L Erdei
   2. Aneth B David
   3. Eleni C Savvidou
   4. Vaida Džemedžionaitė
   5. Advaith Chakravarthy
   6. Béla P Molnár
   7. Teun Dekker

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study addresses both commonly accepted and alternative hypotheses for the mechanism by which an intercrop supports pest control in push-pull agriculture, a promising and broadly recognized approach for sustainable intensification. The findings address a widely recognized gap in data on the mechanism underlying push-pull systems and thus can be important for work on pest control in agroecology as well as plant-herbivore interactions more generally. The support of claims is solid, combining observations of several different mechanistic aspects in an uncommonly broad range of relevant environments with clear reasoning regarding experimental design, but also using some non-standard approaches that are not as well explained, complicating comparisons to the current state of the art.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Emergence of planar cell polarity from the interplay of local interactions and global gradients

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Divyoj Singh
   2. Sriram Ramaswamy
   3. Mohit Kumar Jolly
   4. Mohd Suhail Rizvi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents a valuable model for the emergence of planar cell polarity from the interplay of local interactions and global gradient. The framework of this model is solid, although the appreciation of its result should in places be more quantitative. A quality of this model is its simplicity and its convenience for experimental testing.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. PSTPIP2 ameliorates aristolochic acid nephropathy by suppressing interleukin-19-mediated neutrophil extracellular trap formation

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Changlin Du
   2. Chuanting Xu
   3. Pengcheng Jia
   4. Na Cai
   5. Zhenming Zhang
   6. Wenna Meng
   7. Lu Chen
   8. Zhongnan Zhou
   9. Qi Wang
   10. Rui Feng
   11. Jun Li
   12. Xiaoming Meng
   13. Cheng Huang
   14. Taotao Ma

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This paper is of interest to a broad audience of cell biologists, and researchers who work in cell death and the role of NETosis in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases. This study presents valuable new insights to support NETosis plays an important role in the development of aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN). A series of compelling experiments using in vivo and in vitro model supported that AAN induced NET formation via IL-19-IL20-beta receptor can induce inflammation and cell death. This new knowledge of the interaction between kidney cells and neutrophils could have clinical implications in the treatment of AAN.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Inhibition of Cpeb3 ribozyme elevates CPEB3 protein expression and polyadenylation of its target mRNAs and enhances object location memory

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Claire C Chen
   2. Joseph Han
   3. Carlene A Chinn
   4. Jacob S Rounds
   5. Xiang Li
   6. Mehran Nikan
   7. Marie Myszka
   8. Liqi Tong
   9. Luiz FM Passalacqua
   10. Timothy Bredy
   11. Marcelo A Wood
   12. Andrej Luptak

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this manuscript the authors describe the expression and regulatory function of a self-cleaving ribozyme in the Cpeb3 gene. This is an important study because although many self-cleaving ribozymes have been identified in the genome, the functions of these RNA enzymes even for molecular control of their target genes is mostly unknown. The manuscript provides solid data for the molecular function of the ribosome in gene regulation and its role in hippocampal learning. The study will be of interest to neurobiologists who study gene regulatory mechanisms in learning.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Pain persists in mice lacking both Substance P and CGRPα signaling

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Donald Iain MacDonald
   2. Monessha Jayabalan
   3. Jonathan T Seaman
   4. Rakshita Balaji
   5. Alec R Nickolls
   6. Alexander Theodore Chesler

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This report used a new double knockout mouse model to investigate the role of two neuropeptides, substance P and CGRPa, in pain signaling. There is convincing evidence that double knockout of these two molecules, both of which have historically been associated with pain, does not affect nociception or acute pain behaviors in males and females. This finding is fundamental, as it challenges the hypothesis that these peptides are essential for pain transmission, even when targeted together. This paper will be of interest to those interested in the neurobiology of pain and/or neuropeptide function.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Commissureless acts as a substrate adapter in a conserved Nedd4 E3 ubiquitin ligase pathway to promote axon growth across the midline

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Kelly G Sullivan
   2. Greg J Bashaw

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This work is of fundamental significance to the field of nervous system development as it advances our mechanistic understanding of axon guidance. The rigorous biochemical and genetic approaches are compelling, experiments are well-controlled, and the major claims are supported by convincing data. The study should be of general interest to the developmental neurobiology community.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Genetic and pharmacologic alterations of claudin9 levels suffice to induce functional and mature inner hair cells

    This article has 13 authors:

    1. Yingying Chen
    2. Jeong Han Lee
    3. Jin Li
    4. Seojin Park
    5. Maria C Perez Flores
    6. Braulio Peguero
    7. Jennifer Kersigo
    8. Mincheol Kang
    9. Jinsil Choi
    10. Lauren Levine
    11. Michael Anne Gratton
    12. Bernd Fritzsch
    13. Ebenezer N Yamoah

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This valuable study reports the induction of supernumerary inner hair cells in the mouse cochlea upon reducing the expression level of a tight-junction protein (claudin-9) at developmental stages. Although these ectopic hair cells are functional and persists through adulthood, the evidence supporting some of the claims is incomplete, particularly regarding the underlying mechanisms of cell differentiation and the potential of the approach for hair-cell regeneration. The work will be of interest to scientists working in the development and regeneration of hair cells in the inner ear.

    Reviewed by eLife