Latest preprint reviews

1. Asynchronous mouse embryo polarization leads to heterogeneity in cell fate specification

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Adiyant Lamba
   2. Meng Zhu
   3. Maciej Meglicki
   4. Sylwia Czukiewska
   5. Lakshmi Balasubramaniam
   6. Ron Hadas
   7. Nina Weishaupt
   8. Ekta M Patel
   9. Yu Hua Kavanagh
   10. Ran Wang
   11. Naihe Jing
   12. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important work has substantially advanced our understanding of the molecular basis of symmetry breaking and lineage specification in preimplantation mammalian embryos. The results generated using live imaging are compelling. Quantification of the functional assays is convincing and would be improved by increasing the number of embryos in the evaluations and clearly stating how many embryos are evaluated per experiment.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Glycolytic flux controls retinal progenitor cell differentiation via regulating Wnt signaling

   This article has 15 authors:

   1. Joseph Hanna
   2. Yacine Touahri
   3. Alissa Pak
   4. Lauren Belfiore
   5. Edwin van Oosten
   6. Luke Ajay David
   7. Sisu Han
   8. Yaroslav Ilnytskyy
   9. Igor Kovalchuk
   10. Deborah M Kurrasch
   11. Satoshi Okawa
   12. Antonio del Sol
   13. Robert A Screaton
   14. Isabelle Aubert
   15. Carol Schuurmans

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study advances our understanding of the role energy metabolism, specifically anaerobic glycolysis, plays during development. Convincing genetic and pharmacological evidence demonstrates that glycolytic flux is not only necessary during retinogenesis but also controls the rate of retinal progenitor cell proliferation and photoreceptor maturation. Interesting evidence suggests potential downstream roles for intracellular pH and Wnt/β-catenin signaling; however, more direct evidence is needed to show they are the key mediators of glycolysis. This work is expected to stimulate broad interest and possible future studies investigating the link between metabolism and development in other tissue systems.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Fat body-derived cytokine Upd2 controls disciplined migration of tracheal stem cells in Drosophila

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Pengzhen Dong
   2. Yue Li
   3. Yuying Wang
   4. Qiang Zhao
   5. Tianfeng Lu
   6. Jian Chen
   7. Tianyu Guo
   8. Jun Ma
   9. Bing Yang
   10. Honggang Wu
   11. Hai Huang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study investigates how inter-organ communication between the tracheal stem cells and the fat body plays a key role in the directed migration of tracheal stem cells in Drosophila pupae. While the experimental data are extensive and complementary, the evidence presented to substantiate some of the conclusions appears incomplete and requires further clarification and additional experiments. The work would be of interest to researchers in the fields of developmental biology and cancer biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Pharmacologic Activation of Integrated Stress Response Kinases Inhibits Pathologic Mitochondrial Fragmentation

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Kelsey R. Baron
   2. Samantha Oviedo
   3. Sophia Krasny
   4. Mashiat Zaman
   5. Rama Aldakhlallah
   6. Prerona Bora
   7. Prakhyat Mathur
   8. Gerald Pfeffer
   9. Michael J. Bollong
   10. Timothy E. Shutt
   11. Danielle A. Grotjahn
   12. R. Luke Wiseman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study identifies a new class of small molecules that activate the integrated stress response via the kinase HRI. Solid evidence indicates that two of these compounds promote mitochondrial elongation. The findings would be strengthened if the mutant cells with reduced fusion activity of Mfn2 were analyzed for the rescue of mitochondrial functions.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Electrostatic interactions in nucleosome and higher-order structures are regulated by protonation state of histone ionizable residue

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Houfang Zhang
   2. Wenhan Guo
   3. Wang Xu
   4. Anbang Li
   5. Lijun Jiang
   6. Lin Li
   7. Yunhui Peng

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study explores the impact of pH changes and cancer mutations on nucleosome interactions and higher-order chromatin structures. The evidence supporting the main conclusions is solid, based on rigorous computational methods, including pKa prediction, electrostatic force calculation, and molecular dynamics simulations. The findings provide insights into how protonation states and cancer-associated mutations affect nucleosome electrostatics and chromatin organization, making this work of broad interest to chromatin biologists, cancer researchers, and computational biophysicists.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Mapping vascular network architecture in primate brain using ferumoxytol-weighted laminar MRI

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Joonas A. Autio
   2. Ikko Kimura
   3. Takayuki Ose
   4. Yuki Matsumoto
   5. Masahiro Ohno
   6. Yuta Urushibata
   7. Takuro Ikeda
   8. Matthew F. Glasser
   9. David C. Van Essen
   10. Takuya Hayashi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents valuable findings on the relative cerebral blood volume of non-human primates that move us closer to uncovering the functional and architectonic principles that govern the interplay between neuronal and vascular networks. The evidence of areal variations is solid, but that of vessel counting and laminar analysis is incomplete. The lack of a direct comparison of their approach against better-established MRI-based methods for measuring hemodynamics and vascular structure weakens the evidence provided in the current paper version. The work will be of interest to NHP imaging scientists.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Post-retrieval noradrenergic activation impairs subsequent memory depending on cortico-hippocampal reactivation

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Hendrik Heinbockel
   2. Gregor Leicht
   3. Anthony D. Wagner
   4. Lars Schwabe

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This work presents valuable findings of a modulatory effect of yohimbine, an alpha2-adrenergic antagonist that raises noradrenaline levels, on the reconsolidation of emotionally neutral word-picture pairs, depending on the hippocampal and cortical reactivation during retrieval. The evidence supporting the conclusion is incomplete so far, particularly considering concerns about the median-splitting approach for reaction times and hippocampal activity. The work will be of broad interest to researchers working on memory.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Somatodendritic orientation determines tDCS-induced neuromodulation of Purkinje cell activity in awake mice

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Carlos A Sánchez-León
   2. Guillermo Sánchez-Garrido Campos
   3. Marta Fernández
   4. Alvaro Sánchez-López
   5. Javier F Medina
   6. Javier Márquez-Ruiz

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this elegant and thorough study, Sánchez-León et al. investigate the effects of tDCS on the firing of single cerebellar neurons in awake and anesthetized mice. They find heterogeneous responses depending on the orientation of the recorded Purkinje cell. The paper is important in that it may well explain part of the controversial and ambiguous outcomes of various clinical trials. It is a well-written paper on a deeply analyzed dataset and the methods in the paper are generally convincing, with the current version having some weaknesses in statistical reporting and power.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Cell crowding induces TRPV4 inhibition and its relocation to plasma membranes, implicating pro-invasive cell volume reduction mechanotransduction pathway

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Xiangning Bu
   2. Nathanael Ashby
   3. Teresa Vitali
   4. Sulgi Lee
   5. Ananya Gottumukkala
   6. Kangsun Yun
   7. Sana Tabbara
   8. Patricia Latham
   9. Christine Teal
   10. Inhee Chung

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this important study, Bu et al investigate how cell overcrowding triggers a mechano-transduction pathway involving TRPV4 channels, focusing on high-grade ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) cells. The authors show that cell crowding in these malignant cells leads to a reduction in cell volume and promotes a pro-invasive phenotype through calcium homeostasis and TRPV4 channel trafficking to the plasma membrane; this phenomenon is specific to invasive cell lines like MCF10CA and DCIS and is corroborated by patient tissue samples. The work suggests the role of TRPV4 in cell motility and mechanical sensing, offering potential therapeutic insights for targeting cancer metastasis. While the study presents robust and convincing data, the absence of TRPV4 genetic ablation is a critical limitation, which would further confirm its role in these processes.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Disruption of the CRF ₁ receptor eliminates morphine-induced sociability deficits and firing of oxytocinergic neurons in male mice

    This article has 5 authors:

    1. Alessandro Piccin
    2. Anne-Emilie Allain
    3. Jérôme Baufreton
    4. Sandrine S. Bertrand
    5. Angelo Contarino

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This study provides valuable evidence on the relationship between morphine-induced social deficits, corticotropin-releasing factor receptors, and alterations in neuronal activity in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus of mice (PVN). Convincing approaches and methods were used to show that the CRF1 receptor plays a role in sociability deficits occurring after acute morphine administration. Conclusions regarding mechanistic connections between the effect of modulation of CRF 1 receptor on sociability and PVN neuronal firing are, however, incompletely supported.

    Reviewed by eLife