eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Coevolution with toxic prey produces functional trade-offs in sodium channels of predatory snakes

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Robert E. del Carlo
   2. Jessica S. Reimche
   3. Haley A. Moniz
   4. Michael T.J. Hague
   5. Shailesh R. Agarwal
   6. Edmund D. Brodie
   7. Edmund D. Brodie
   8. Normand Leblanc
   9. Chris R. Feldman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study describes an investigation of the properties of two heterologously-expressed Nav1.4 channels, with mutations close to the selectivity filter found in tetrodotoxin(TTX)-resistant snakes. The authors studied these mutants by electrophysiological methods, assessed the muscle properties of two types of snakes bearing these mutations, and built homology models of the channels to hypothesize a molecular explanation of the altered channel properties. The methods employed and the results are generally solid, although some aspects would benefit from additional experiments and a more nuanced discussion.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Targeted protein degradation systems to enhance Wnt signaling

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Parthasarathy Sampathkumar
   2. Heekyung Jung
   3. Hui Chen
   4. Zhengjian Zhang
   5. Nicholas Suen
   6. Yiran Yang
   7. Zhong Huang
   8. Tom Lopez
   9. Robert Benisch
   10. Sung-Jin Lee
   11. Jay Ye
   12. Wen-Chen Yeh
   13. Yang Li

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The manuscript describes a valuable method to boost WNT signaling in a tissue-specific manner. The work extends previous data from the authors based on fusing an RSPO2 mutant protein to an antibody that binds ASGR1/2. In the current manuscript, two new antibodies with similar effects are described, that expand this solid approach and provide alternatives for potential future clinical applications. This manuscript will be of interest to all scientists studying protein engineering and cellular targeting.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Epigenetics and chromatin structure regulate var2csa expression and the placental binding phenotype in Plasmodium falciparum

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Todd Lenz
   2. Madle Sirel
   3. Hannes Hoppe
   4. Sulman Shafeeq
   5. Karine Le Roch
   6. Ulf Ribacke

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors examined in detail the epigenetic changes and alterations in the subnuclear arrangement of a unique var gene associated with Plasmodium falciparum placental malaria. Although the observations are mainly confirmatory, the findings are valuable for theoretical considerations and practical applications. Applying the latest methods for the analysis of histone marks, transcriptomics, DNA methylation, and chromosome conformation, the authors provide observations that are convincing, thus making their claims appropriate.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. OpenNucleome for high-resolution nuclear structural and dynamical modeling

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Zhuohan Lao
   2. Kartik D Kamat
   3. Zhongling Jiang
   4. Bin Zhang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important work significantly advances the field of computational modelling of genome organisation through the development of OpenNucleome. The evidence supporting the tool's effectiveness is compelling, as the authors compare their predictions with experimental data. It is anticipated that OpenNucleome will attract significant interest from the biophysics and genomics communities.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. PCBP2 as an intrinsic aging factor regulates the senescence of hBMSCs through the ROS-FGF2 signaling axis

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Pengbo Chen
   2. Bo Li
   3. Zeyu Lu
   4. Qingyin Xu
   5. Huoliang Zheng
   6. Shengdan Jiang
   7. Leisheng Jiang
   8. Xinfeng Zheng

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this valuable study, the authors aimed to identify and characterize intrinsic factors that govern the aging process of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs), which are believed to be related to osteoporosis. The authors conclude that PCBP2 is an intrinsic aging factor, the decrease of its expression during aging results in cell proliferation activity decrease and cell senescence. The study provides convincing evidence in support of its conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Reliable protein–protein docking with AlphaFold, Rosetta, and replica exchange

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Ameya Harmalkar
   2. Sergey Lyskov
   3. Jeffrey J Gray

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The authors report how a previously published method, ReplicaDock, can be used to improve predictions from AlphaFold-multimer (AFm) for protein docking studies. The level of improvement is modest for cases where AFm is successful; for cases where AFm is not as successful, the improvement is more significant, although the accuracy of prediction is also notably lower. The evidence for the ReplicaDock approach being more predictive than AFm is particularly convincing for the antibody-antigen test case. Overall, the study makes a valuable contribution by combining data- and physics-driven approaches.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. CyAbrB2 is a nucleoid-associated protein in Synechocystis controlling hydrogenase expression during fermentation

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Ryo Kariyazono
   2. Takashi Osanai

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors provide solid data on a functional investigation of potential nucleoid-associated proteins and the modulation of chromosomal conformation in a model cyanobacterium. These valuable findings will be of interest to the chromosome and microbiology fields. Additional analysis and the tempering of conclusions has helped to improve the work, although further refinement remains possible.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. The title and authors for this article are not available from our external data provider yet:
   10.48550/arxiv.2303.14159v5

9. Cell-type-specific origins of locomotor rhythmicity at different speeds in larval zebrafish

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Moneeza A Agha
   2. Sandeep Kishore
   3. David L McLean

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this fundamental study, authors present compelling evidence for the diversity in cellular and synaptic properties of one class of spinal interneurons and tie it to their differentiated role in locomotor pattern generation. The findings reported here will be of broad interest to neuroscientists in general and to motor systems scientists in particular.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Downregulation of Mirlet7 miRNA family promotes Tc17 differentiation and emphysema via de-repression of RORγt

    This article has 10 authors:

    1. Phillip A Erice
    2. Xinyan Huang
    3. Matthew J Seasock
    4. Matthew J Robertson
    5. Hui-Ying Tung
    6. Melissa A Perez-Negron
    7. Shivani L Lotlikar
    8. David B Corry
    9. Farrah Kheradmand
    10. Antony Rodriguez

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This important study indicates a significant role for individual let-7 miRNA clusters in regulating generation of Tc17 CD8 cells and emphysema severity in a mouse model. The authors provide convincing evidence for let-7-mediated repression of the transcription factor RORgt and consequent modulation of IL-17-producing CD8 T cells, with correlated data from human emphysema material, though some of the effective let-7 clusters remain to be tested for the ability to modulate disease. The findings, which substantially advance the understanding of roles that let-7 miRNA clusters play in modulating both T cell responses and emphysematous lung disease, will be of interest to T cell and lung disease researchers.

    Reviewed by eLife