eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. The spatial extent of anatomical connections within the thalamus varies across the cortical hierarchy in humans and macaques

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Amber M Howell
   2. Shaun Warrington
   3. Clara Fonteneau
   4. Youngsun T Cho
   5. Stamatios N Sotiropoulos
   6. John D Murray
   7. Alan Anticevic

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This fundamental study describes patterns of anatomical connectivity between the cortex and the thalamus using magnetic resonance imaging data in humans and non-human primates. The measures are related to numerous other modalities to develop a robust understanding of the organisation of the system. The authors provide convincing evidence that there is a difference between sensory and association cortices in terms of their connectivity with the thalamus, which may have downstream effects on brain function. This work will be of interest to neuroscientists interested in the organization and dynamics of cortico-thalamic circuits.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Contrasting responses to aridity by different-sized decomposers cause similar decomposition rates across a precipitation gradient

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Viraj R Torsekar
   2. Nevo Sagi
   3. J Alfred Daniel
   4. Yael Hawlena
   5. Efrat Gavish-Regev
   6. Dror Hawlena

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment:

     This fundamental study substantially advances our understanding of the role of different-sized soil invertebrates in shaping the rates of leaf litter decomposition, using an experiment across seasons along an aridity gradient. The authors provide compelling evidence that the summed effects of all invertebrates (with large-sized invertebrates being more active in summer and small-sized invertebrates in winter) on decomposition rates result in similar levels of leaf litter decomposition across seasons. The work will be of broad relevance to ecosystem ecologists interested in soil food webs, and researchers interested in modeling carbon cycles to understand global warming.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Distinct catecholaminergic pathways projecting to hippocampal CA1 transmit contrasting signals during navigation in familiar and novel environments

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Chad Heer
   2. Mark Sheffield

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents important findings on the differential activity of noradrenergic and dopaminergic input to dorsal hippocampus CA1 in head-fixed mice traversing a runway in a virtual environment that is familiar or novel. The data are rigorously analysed, and the observed divergence in the dynamics of activity in the dopaminergic and noradrenergic axons is solid. Future studies, using specific manipulations of the two distinct midbrain inputs combined with behavioral testing, are required to strengthen the claim that distinct signals to the hippocampus cause distinct behavioral effects.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Uncertainty-modulated prediction errors in cortical microcircuits

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Katharina Anna Wilmes
   2. Mihai A Petrovici
   3. Shankar Sachidhanandam
   4. Walter Senn

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study introduces a new cortical circuit model for predictive processing. Simulations effectively illustrate that, with appropriate synaptic plasticity, a canonical layer 2/3 cortical circuit - comprising two classes of interneurons providing subtractive and divisive inhibition - can generate uncertainty-modulated prediction errors by pyramidal neurons. The model is compelling; although it relies on many assumptions and has not yet been compared directly to data, the model does align with empirical observations and yields a range of testable predictions. The study is expected to be of great interest to those involved in cortical and predictive processing research.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Rapid and inducible mislocalization of endogenous TDP43 in a novel human model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Johanna Ganssauge
   2. Sophie Hawkins
   3. Seema Chandramohan Namboori
   4. Szi Kay Leung
   5. Jonathan Mill
   6. Akshay Bhinge

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     TDP-43 mislocalization is a key feature of some neurodegenerative diseases, but cellular models are lacking. The authors endogenously-tagged TDP-43 with a C-terminal GFP tag in human iPSCs, followed by expression of an intrabody-NES that targeted GFP to the cytosol. They convincingly report physical mislocalization and functional depletion of TDP-43, as measured by microscopy and RNAseq. This method will be valuable to investigators studying the biological consequences of TDP-43 mislocalization and the methodology is in line with the current state-of-the-art.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Dual engagement of the nucleosomal acidic patches is essential for deposition of histone H2A.Z by SWR1C

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Alexander S Baier
   2. Nathan Gioacchini
   3. Priit Eek
   4. Erik M Leith
   5. Song Tan
   6. Craig L Peterson

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript presents an important analysis of the role that the nucleosome acidic patch plays in SWR1-catalyzed histone exchange. This manuscript contains convincing data which significantly expands our understanding of the complex process of H2A.Z deposition by SWR1 and therefore would be of interest to a broad readership.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. RBM7 deficiency promotes breast cancer metastasis by coordinating MFGE8 splicing switch and NF-kB pathway

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Fang Huang
   2. Zhenwei Dai
   3. Jinmiao Yu
   4. Kainan Wang
   5. Chaoqun Chen
   6. Dan Chen
   7. Jinrui Zhang
   8. Jinyao Zhao
   9. Mei Li
   10. Wenjing Zhang
   11. Xiaojie Li
   12. Yangfan Qi
   13. Yang Wang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents a rather valuable finding on the RBM7 function in spicing regulation and uncharacterized role of MFGE8 splicing alteration in breast cancer metastasis. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid. The work will be of broad interest to clinicians, medical researchers and scientists working on breast cancer.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Large pan-cancer cell screen coupled to (phospho-)proteomics underscores high-dose vitamin C as a potent anti-cancer agent

   This article has 18 authors:

   1. Andrea Vallés-Martí
   2. Franziska Böttger
   3. Elysia Yau
   4. Khadija Tejjani
   5. Loes Meijs
   6. Sugandhi Sharma
   7. Madiha Mumtaz
   8. Tessa Y. S. Le Large
   9. Ayse Erozenci
   10. Daniëlle Dekker
   11. Tim Schelfhorst
   12. Jan Paul Medema
   13. Irene V Bijnsdorp
   14. Jaco C Knol
   15. Sander R Piersma
   16. Thang V. Pham
   17. Elisa Giovannetti
   18. Connie R Jiménez

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This useful study utilizes proteomics analysis across a large panel of 51 cancer cell lines to elucidate mechanisms underlying the sensitivity of cancer cells to high-dose vitamin C (Ascorbate). While the associations between specific molecular pathways and sensitivity to ascorbate are interesting, a major limitation is that the study is largely descriptive and incomplete, lacking evidence on the molecular underpinnings of cancer cells' sensitivity to high-dose vitamin C.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Clinical phenotypes in acute and chronic infarction explained through human ventricular electromechanical modelling and simulations

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Xin Zhou
   2. Zhinuo Jenny Wang
   3. Julia Camps
   4. Jakub Tomek
   5. Alfonso Santiago
   6. Adria Quintanas
   7. Mariano Vazquez
   8. Marmar Vaseghi
   9. Blanca Rodriguez

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This computational study integrates detailed electrophysiology and mechanical contraction predictions, which are often modeled separately. The findings of this important work are that abnormal ECGs that are associated with higher risk of sudden cardiac death are predicted to have almost no relationship with left ventricular ejection fraction, which is conventionally used as a risk factor for arrhythmia. The conclusions are based on compelling evidence for the need of incorporating additional risk factors for assessing post-myocardial infarction patients.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Proteomic and functional comparison between human induced and embryonic stem cells

    This article has 15 authors:

    1. Alejandro J Brenes
    2. Eva Griesser
    3. Linda V Sinclair
    4. Lindsay Davidson
    5. Alan R Prescott
    6. Francois Singh
    7. Elizabeth KJ Hogg
    8. Carmen Espejo-Serrano
    9. Hao Jiang
    10. Harunori Yoshikawa
    11. Melpomeni Platani
    12. Jason R Swedlow
    13. Greg M Findlay
    14. Doreen A Cantrell
    15. Angus I Lamond

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This study reports differences in proteomic profiles of embryonic versus induced pluripotent stem cells. This important finding cautions against the interchangeable use of both types of cells in biomedical research, although the mechanisms responsible for these differences remains unknown. The proteomic evidence is convincing, even though there is limited validation with other methods.

    Reviewed by eLife