eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Comprehensive Neural Representations of Naturalistic Stimuli through Multimodal Deep Learning

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Mingxue Fu
   2. Guoqiu Chen
   3. Yijie Zhang
   4. Mingzhe Zhang
   5. Yin Wang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents a valuable application of a video-text alignment deep neural network model to improve neural encoding of naturalistic stimuli in fMRI. The authors found that models based on multimodal and dynamic embedding features of audiovisual movies predicted brain responses better than models based on unimodal or static features. The evidence supporting the claims is generally solid, with clear benchmarking against baseline models. The work will be of interest to researchers in cognitive neuroscience and AI-based brain modeling.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Transcriptional responses to chronic oxidative stress require cholinergic activation of G-protein-coupled receptor signaling

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Kasturi Biswas
   2. Caroline Moore
   3. Hannah Rogers
   4. Khursheed A Wani
   5. Read Pukkila-Worley
   6. Daniel P Higgins
   7. Amy K Walker
   8. Gregory P Mullen
   9. James B Rand
   10. Michael M Francis

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This useful study advances our understanding of how organisms respond to chronic oxidative stress. Using the nematode C. elegans, the authors identified key neuronal signaling molecules and their receptors that are required for stress signaling and survival. The evidence supporting the conclusions is solid, with rigorous genetics, stress response analysis, and transcriptional profiling. This research will be of broad interest to neuroscientists and researchers working in the field of oxidative stress regulation.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Trpv4 mediates temperature induced sex change in ricefield eel

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Zhi Yang
   2. Tingting Luo
   3. Yimin Zhang
   4. Yuhua Sun

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents useful findings on the molecular mechanisms driving female-to-male sex reversal in the ricefield eel (Monopterus albus) during aging, which would be of interest to biologists studying sex determination. The manuscript describes an interesting mechanism potentially underlying sex differentiation in M. albus. However, the current data are incomplete and would benefit from more rigorous experimental approaches.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. An expanded palette of bright and photostable organellar Ca2+ sensors

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Agathe Moret
   2. Helen Farrants
   3. Ruolin Fan
   4. Kelsey G Zingg
   5. Bryon Silva
   6. Camilla Roselli
   7. Thomas G Oertner
   8. Christine E Gee
   9. Dafni Hadjieconomou
   10. Vidhya Rangaraju
   11. Eric R Schreiter
   12. Jaime de Juan-Sanz

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study introduces a new class of spectrally tunable, dye-based calcium sensors optimized for imaging in organelles with high calcium concentrations, such as the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. The experimental evidence supporting the applicability of these sensors is convincing, with thorough validation in cultured cells and neurons. The work will be of high interest to researchers studying calcium signaling dynamics in subcellular compartments.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Spectraplakin cooperates with noncentrosomal microtubule regulators to orient dendritic microtubules in Drosophila

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Matthew Davies
   2. Neeraja Sanal
   3. Neele Wolterhoff
   4. Ulrike Gigengack
   5. Yitao Shen
   6. Ines Hahn
   7. Sebastian Rumpf

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Davies et al. present a valuable study proposing that Shot can act as a molecular linker between microtubules and actin during dendrite pruning, suggesting an intriguing role in non-centrosomal microtubule organization. However, the experimental evidence is incomplete and does not robustly support these claims, and the lack of a cohesive model connecting the findings weakens the overall impact. While the data suggest that Shot, actin, and microtubule nucleation contribute to dendritic pruning, their precise interplay remains unresolved.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Multiple modes of cholesterol translocation in the human Smoothened receptor

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Prateek D Bansal
   2. Maia Kinnebrew
   3. Rajat Rohatgi
   4. Diwakar Shukla

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this useful study, the authors conducted a set of computational and experimental investigations of the mechanism of cholesterol transport in the smoothened (SMO) protein. The computational component integrated multiple state-of-the-art approaches such as adaptive sampling, free energy simulations, and Markov state modeling, providing support for the proposed mechanistic model, which is also consistent with the experimental mutagenesis data. However, substantial revisions are needed for the discussion of the computational results and interpretation of the literature to provide a more balanced and accurate perspective on cholesterol-mediated SMO regulation. In the current form, therefore, the strength of evidence of the study is considered incomplete.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. MIRO1 controls energy production and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Lan Qian
   2. Olha M Koval
   3. Benney T Endoni
   4. Denise Juhr
   5. Colleen S Stein
   6. Chantal Allamargot
   7. Li-Hsien Lin
   8. Deng-Fu Guo
   9. Kamal Rahmouni
   10. Ryan L Boudreau
   11. Jennifer Streeter
   12. William H Thiel
   13. Isabella M Grumbach

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study is valuable for understanding how dysfunctional mitochondria contribute to vascular diseases by investigating the influence of Miro1 on smooth muscle cell proliferation and neointima development. The solid findings collectively indicate that Miro1 regulates mitochondrial cristae architecture and the efficiency of the respiratory chain. Nevertheless, the analysis would benefit from a more thorough assessment of the relationship between Miro1-dependent mitochondrial defects and vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Dynamic assembly of malate dehydrogenase-citrate synthase multienzyme complex in the mitochondria

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Joy Omini
   2. Inga Krassovskaya
   3. Taiwo Dele-Osibanjo
   4. Connor Pedersen
   5. Toshihiro Obata

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study reports a dynamic association/dissociation between malate dehydrogenase (MDH1) and citrate synthase (CIT1) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae under different metabolic conditions that control TCA pathway flux rate. The research question is timely, the use of the NanoBiT split-luciferase system to monitor protein-protein interactions is innovative, and the significance of the findings is valuable. However, the strength of evidence needed to support the conclusions was found to be incomplete based on a lack of critical control and mechanistic experiments.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Faroese Whole Genomes Provide Insight into Ancestry and Recent Selection

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Iman Hamid
   2. Ólavur Mortensen
   3. Alba Refoyo-Martinez
   4. Leivur N Lydersen
   5. Anne-Katrin Emde
   6. Melissa Hendershott
   7. Katrin D Apol
   8. Guðrið Andorsdóttir
   9. Jonas Meisner
   10. Kaja A Wasik
   11. Fernando Racimo
   12. Stephane E Castel
   13. Noomi O Gregersen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This paper presents an analysis of demography and selection from whole-genome sequencing of 40 Faroese, with data that are useful beyond the study region. Much of the analysis is solid, but a more fine-scale analysis of demographic history could have led to more interesting findings. In addition, there are concerns about the selection analyses, given the special nature of the studied population and sampling scheme. Finally, lack of data availability limits the broader value of the paper.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Acquired resistance to sotorasib in KRASG12C mutant NSCLC is vulnerable to PI3K-mTOR pathway inhibition mediated by 4E-BP1 regulator of cap-dependent translation

    This article has 15 authors:

    1. Ismail M Meraz
    2. Shuhong Wu
    3. Yi Xu
    4. Lihui Gao
    5. Meng Feng
    6. Chenghui Ren
    7. Renduo Song
    8. Ran Zhang
    9. Qi Wang
    10. Yuanxin Xi
    11. Sung Yun Jung
    12. Jing Wang
    13. Bingliang Fang
    14. Mourad Majidi
    15. Jack A Roth

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      The authors investigate mechanisms of acquired resistance (AR) to KRAS-G12C inhibitors (sotorasib) in non-small cell lung cancer, proposing that resistance arises from signaling rewiring rather than additional mutations. While the study addresses a valuable clinical question, it is limited by several weaknesses in experimental rigor, data interpretation, and presentation, meaning the strength of evidence is incomplete

    Reviewed by eLife