eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. DNA methylation-environment interactions in the human genome

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Rachel A Johnston
   2. Katherine A Aracena
   3. Luis B Barreiro
   4. Amanda J Lea
   5. Jenny Tung

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important paper uses a genome-wide, massively parallel reporter assay to determine how CpG methylation affects regulatory sequences that control the expression of human genes. The authors provide compelling evidence that methylation not only influences baseline activity of regulatory sequences but also the magnitude of acute responses to environmental stimuli. The findings are of broad interest, and the extensive data set will likely become a key resource for the community.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Dietary Restriction Impacts Peripheral Circadian Clock Output Important for Longevity in Drosophila

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Dae-Sung Hwangbo
   2. Yong-Jae Kwon
   3. Marta Iwanaszko
   4. Peng Jiang
   5. Ladan Abbasi
   6. Nicholas Wright
   7. Sarayu Alli
   8. Alan L. Hutchison
   9. Aaron R. Dinner
   10. Rosemary I Braun
   11. Ravi Allada

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study describes important findings on how a core component of the circadian clock impacts the effect of dietary restriction (DR) on longevity and fecundity in Drosophila, which lead the authors to postulate rhythmic control of proteostasis in the fat body as a critical aspect of DR effects. The evidence presented is still incomplete, not fully supporting the conclusions of the study, as alternative hypotheses/explanations have not yet been systematically explored. The work will nevertheless be of substantial interest to researchers working in circadian and cell biology, metabolism, and aging, with an interesting hypothesis to be explored further.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Free energy landscapes of KcsA inactivation

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Sergio Pérez-Conesa
   2. Lucie Delemotte

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this valuable study, advanced simulation methodologies are used to extract the mechanisms of inactivation for the potassium ion channel KcsA. The string method approach provides solid evidence that reveal features associated with the interplay between gate size and collapse of the selectivity filter, as well as remarkable differences between different force fields. While this manuscript does not address recent discoveries in K channel inactivation involving dilated selectivity filter structures obtained by Xray and cryo-EM, it does help us understand the KcsA constriction process. With added descriptions and analysis of collective variables, improved reproducibility of results, consistency between string method free energies and unbiased simulations, and improved transition rate calculation, this manuscript will be of interest to the ion channel field.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Inhibition of microtubule detyrosination by parthenolide facilitates functional CNS axon regeneration

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Marco Leibinger
   2. Charlotte Zeitler
   3. Miriam Paulat
   4. Philipp Gobrecht
   5. Alexander Hilla
   6. Anastasia Andreadaki
   7. Rainer Guthoff
   8. Dietmar Fischer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The primary goal of this paper is to examine microtubule detyrosination as a potential therapeutic target for axon regeneration. The valuable findings of this study provide convincing evidence for mechanistic links between microtubule detyrosination and neurite outgrowth in vitro and some evidence for axon regeneration in vivo.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. De novo identification of universal cell mechanics gene signatures

   This article has 17 authors:

   1. Marta Urbanska
   2. Yan Ge
   3. Maria Winzi
   4. Shada Abuhattum
   5. Syed Shafat Ali
   6. Maik Herbig
   7. Martin Kräter
   8. Nicole Toepfner
   9. Joanne Durgan
   10. Oliver Florey
   11. Martina Dori
   12. Federico Calegari
   13. Fidel-Nicolás Lolo
   14. Miguel Ángel del Pozo
   15. Anna Taubenberger
   16. Carlo Vittorio Cannistraci
   17. Jochen Guck

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study uses machine learning-based network analysis on transcriptomic data from different tissue cell types to identify a small set of conserved (pan-tissue) genes associated with changes in cell mechanics. The new method, which provides a new type of approach for mechanobiology, is accessible, compelling, and well-validated using in silico and experimental approaches. The study provides motivation for researchers to test hypotheses concerning the identified five-gene network, and the method will be strengthened over time with expanded sets of validations, such as testing genes with hitherto unknown roles and different perturbation techniques.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. A statistical framework for quantifying the nuclear export rate of influenza viral mRNAs

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Michi Miura
   2. Naho Kiuchi
   3. Siu-Ying Lau
   4. Bobo Wing-Yee Mok
   5. Hiroshi Ushirogawa
   6. Tadasuke Naito
   7. Honglin Chen
   8. Mineki Saito

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study combines virology experiments and mathematical modeling to determine the nuclear export rate of each of the eight RNA segments of the influenza A virus, leading to the proposal that a specific retention of mRNA within the nucleus delays the expression of antigenic viral proteins. The proposed model for explaining the differential rate of export is compelling, going beyond the state of the art, but the experimental setup is only in partial support and further studies will be needed to confirm the proposed mechanism.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Sustained store-operated calcium entry utilizing activated chromatin state leads to instability in iTregs

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Huiyun Lyu
   2. Guohua Yuan
   3. Xinyi Liu
   4. Xiaobo Wang
   5. Shuang Geng
   6. Tie Xia
   7. Xuyu Zhou
   8. Yinqing Li
   9. Xiaoyu Hu
   10. Yan Shi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents the valuable finding that sustained calcium signaling in induced-Treg (iTreg) cells can lead to the loss of Foxp3 expression and iTreg identity by altering the chromatin landscape. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is convincing. The work will be of interest to immunologists working on Treg cell therapy.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Mitochondrial temperature homeostasis resists external metabolic stresses

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Mügen Terzioglu
   2. Kristo Veeroja
   3. Toni Montonen
   4. Teemu O Ihalainen
   5. Tiina S Salminen
   6. Paule Bénit
   7. Pierre Rustin
   8. Young-Tae Chang
   9. Takeharu Nagai
   10. Howard T Jacobs

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The study provides useful data supporting prior findings that mitochondria in cultured cells maintain a temperature that is up to 15°C above the external temperature at which cultured cells are maintained. The evidence supporting the hypothesis is solid, although direct measures of temperature in isolated mitochondria or comparison with other cellular compartments would have strengthened the ability to interpret the relevance of the findings. Nevertheless, the bioenergetic implications of the work will be of interest to cell biologists, biochemists, and physiologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Gaze patterns and brain activations in humans and marmosets in the Frith-Happé theory-of-mind animation task

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Audrey Dureux
   2. Alessandro Zanini
   3. Janahan Selvanayagam
   4. Ravi S Menon
   5. Stefan Everling

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study provides useful findings regarding the capacity for mental state attribution on the Frith-Happé task in a highly social non-human primate species, the marmoset. The methods are solid, integrating validated brain imaging and eye-tracking techniques, however, the theoretical analysis is incomplete due to the omission of a "goal-directed condition." The inclusion of the goal-directed condition would enable a stronger interpretation of the findings and would be of broad interest to neuroscientists working in social and affective sciences.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Neural circuit mechanisms for transforming learned olfactory valences into wind-oriented movement

    This article has 8 authors:

    1. Yoshinori Aso
    2. Daichi Yamada
    3. Daniel Bushey
    4. Karen L Hibbard
    5. Megan Sammons
    6. Hideo Otsuna
    7. Yichun Shuai
    8. Toshihide Hige

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This study provides important new insights into how learning affects behavior in the Drosophila model. Using a combination of connectomics, neurophysiology, and behavioral analysis, a small group of neurons in the Drosophila brain that integrates learned odor valences and promotes odor tracking by driving upwind orientation and movement is described. The study's conclusion is supported by convincing evidence and rigorous quantitative analysis. Insights from the neural circuit mechanism that translates learning-induced plasticity into appropriate behavioral actions will be of broad interest to neuroscientists.

    Reviewed by eLife