eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Differential translation of mRNA isoforms underlies oncogenic activation of cell cycle kinase Aurora A

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Roberta Cacioppo
   2. Hesna Begum Akman
   3. Taner Tuncer
   4. Ayse Elif Erson-Bensan
   5. Catherine Lindon

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this important study, the authors provide compelling evidence that the interplay between alternative polyadenylation (APA) of mRNA encoding Aurora Kinase A (AURKA) and hsa-let-7a miRNA governs AURKA protein levels. The authors show that short 3'UTR isoform of mRNA encoding AURKA is efficiently translated throughout the cell cycle, while the long 3'UTR isoform is suppressed by hsa-let-7a miRNA in a cell cycle-dependent manner. These findings delineate post-transcriptional mechanisms regulating AURKA expression that may be implicated in increase in AURKA protein that is frequently observed across a variety of cancers.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Steroidogenesis and androgen/estrogen signaling pathways are altered in in vitro matured testicular tissues of prepubertal mice

   This article has 15 authors:

   1. Laura Moutard
   2. Caroline Goudin
   3. Catherine Jaeger
   4. Céline Duparc
   5. Estelle Louiset
   6. Tony Pereira
   7. François Fraissinet
   8. Marion Delessard
   9. Justine Saulnier
   10. Aurélie Rives-Feraille
   11. Christelle Delalande
   12. Hervé Lefebvre
   13. Nathalie Rives
   14. Ludovic Dumont
   15. Christine Rondanino

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study reports useful information on the limits of the organotypic culture of neonatal mouse testes, which has been regarded as an experimental strategy that can be extended to humans in the clinical setting for the conservation and subsequent re-use of testicular tissue. The evidence that the culture of testicular fragments of 6.5-day-old mouse testes does not allow optimal differentiation of steroidogenic cells is compelling and should enable further optimizations in the future.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Evolution of an extreme hemoglobin phenotype contributed to the sub-Arctic specialization of extinct Steller’s sea cows

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Anthony V Signore
   2. Phillip R Morrison
   3. Colin J Brauner
   4. Angela Fago
   5. Roy E Weber
   6. Kevin L Campbell

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study functionally characterizes hemoglobin from Steller's sea cow, a cold-water adapted sirenian that went extinct ~250 years ago. Using ancestral sequence reconstruction, site-directed mutagenesis and biochemical assays to compare Steller's hemoglobin to those from (sub)tropical extant sea cows (all of which are proficient divers despite lacking massive muscle oxygen storage), the authors build a solid case for the molecular basis of cold adaptation, centered around an increased solubility and higher oxygen carrying capacity. Remarkably, a single amino acid replacement would explain most of the distinctive functional features of this hemoglobin, which include a hitherto unknown resistance to DPG. Overall, this work will be of interest to evolutionary biologists, physiologists, and biochemists, as well as an enjoyable and informative read for the general public.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Profiling the bloodstream form and procyclic form Trypanosoma brucei cell cycle using single-cell transcriptomics

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Emma M Briggs
   2. Catarina A Marques
   3. Guy R Oldrieve
   4. Jihua Hu
   5. Thomas D Otto
   6. Keith R Matthews

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study identifies more than 1500 genes that are differentially transcribed over the cell cycle of the single-celled eukaryotic pathogen, Trypanosoma brucei. Analysis of the two major developmental stages of these pathogens suggests that a core set of genes are similarly regulated in both stages, while many cell cycle-related changes in gene expression were unique to one stage. Intriguingly, the levels of far fewer proteins are differentially regulated over the trypanosome cell cycle, indicating that protein levels are primarily regulated by post-transcriptional processes. The study represents a significant technical advance in analyzing gene expression at the single-cell level in unfractionated trypanosome cultures.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Molecular basis of ligand-dependent Nurr1-RXRα activation

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Xiaoyu Yu
   2. Jinsai Shang
   3. Douglas J Kojetin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This is a fundamental study of the activation process of Nurr1, an orphan nuclear receptor that may be a significant target for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. Nurr1 functions as a monomer, but may also heterodimerize with RXR which represses Nurr1 transcriptional activation. The authors provide compelling evidence for Nurr1 activation through ligand-induced dissociation of an inactive Nurr1-RXRa heterodimer. These data will be important for biochemists and cell biologists working on regulatory / activation mechanisms of nuclear hormone receptors.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. A critical region of A20 unveiled by missense TNFAIP3 variations that lead to autoinflammation

   This article has 15 authors:

   1. Elma El Khouri
   2. Farah Diab
   3. Camille Louvrier
   4. Eman Assrawi
   5. Aphrodite Daskalopoulou
   6. Alexandre Nguyen
   7. William Piterboth
   8. Samuel Deshayes
   9. Alexandra Desdoits
   10. Bruno Copin
   11. Florence Dastot Le Moal
   12. Sonia Athina Karabina
   13. Serge Amselem
   14. Achille Aouba
   15. Irina Giurgea

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript is of big interest to physicians and geneticists who may struggle with interpreting the clinical significance of novel or rare missense variants in the TNFAIP3 gene in patients with systemic inflammatory diseases. There is also much debate about the potential mechanisms by which these missense mutations might be pathogenic. El Khour et al. addressed these questions by using a combination of in silico analysis and in vitro functional assays. However, their conclusions require additional experimental support and should be expanded to include other reported likely pathogenic missense variants.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Plasticity of gene expression in the nervous system by exposure to environmental odorants that inhibit HDACs

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Sachiko Haga-Yamanaka
   2. Rogelio Nunez-Flores
   3. Christi A Scott
   4. Sarah Perry
   5. Stephanie Turner Chen
   6. Crystal Pontrello
   7. Meera G Nair
   8. Anandasankar Ray

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This interesting and important work shows that diacety, a volatile organic compound released by yeast in fermenting fruit, can act as a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor and trigger wide changes in gene expression, together with suppression neurotoxicity in a Drosophila model of Huntington's disease. While the effects on gene expression changes and degenerative phenotypes are convincingly shown, further studies are required to determine whether and how olfactory sensory neurons and odorant receptors mediate the effects of diacetyl described by the authors.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of childhood wheezing phenotypes identifies ANXA1 as a susceptibility locus for persistent wheezing

   This article has 23 authors:

   1. Raquel Granell
   2. John A Curtin
   3. Sadia Haider
   4. Negusse Tadesse Kitaba
   5. Sara A Mathie
   6. Lisa G Gregory
   7. Laura L Yates
   8. Mauro Tutino
   9. Jenny Hankinson
   10. Mauro Perretti
   11. Judith M Vonk
   12. Hasan S Arshad
   13. Paul Cullinan
   14. Sara Fontanella
   15. Graham C Roberts
   16. Gerard H Koppelman
   17. Angela Simpson
   18. Steve W Turner
   19. Clare S Murray
   20. Clare M Lloyd
   21. John W Holloway
   22. Adnan Custovic
   23. on behalf of UNICORN and Breathing Together investigators

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Genome-wide association studies on asthma have been challenging due to innate heterogeneity and the syndromic nature of asthma, variable accuracy in phenotyping, and potential gene-environment interactions. Here, the authors identified genetic loci associated with subtypes of childhood wheezing in combined data of multiple birth cohorts, by coupling latent class analysis of clinical phenotypic data with GWAS discovery. A mechanistically plausible genetic locus close to annexin 1 (ANXA1) was associated exclusively with early-onset persistent wheeze and provides new translatable molecular insight into asthma pathogenesis.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. A dynamic bactofilin cytoskeleton cooperates with an M23 endopeptidase to control bacterial morphogenesis

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Sebastian Pöhl
   2. Manuel Osorio-Valeriano
   3. Emöke Cserti
   4. Jannik Harberding
   5. Rogelio Hernandez-Tamayo
   6. Jacob Biboy
   7. Patrick Sobetzko
   8. Waldemar Vollmer
   9. Peter L Graumann
   10. Martin Thanbichler

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The manuscript explores the interplay between cytoskeletal bactofilins and cell wall hydrolases in bacterial morphogenesis, utilizing a range of methodologies from bacteriological to biochemical. The study provides important insights into bactofilin polymers' control over peptidoglycan synthesis and the identification of LdmC, supported by a comprehensive array of genetic, bioinformatic, biochemical, and biophysical tools. These convincing findings propose a conserved module governing bacterial morphogenesis, emphasizing the direct association of cell wall remodeling enzymes with a dynamic cytoskeleton, akin to mechanisms observed in other cellular processes such as cell growth and division.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Evidence for adolescent length growth spurts in bonobos and other primates highlights the importance of scaling laws

    This article has 5 authors:

    1. Andreas Berghaenel
    2. Jeroen MG Stevens
    3. Gottfried Hohmann
    4. Tobias Deschner
    5. Verena Behringer

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This valuable paper sheds new light on the growth trajectory of bonobos (Pan paniscus), with explicit contributions to discussions of the exclusivity of certain aspects of growth in modern humans, most specifically with respect to components of the adolescent growth spurt, which may be less human-specific among primates than presumed to this point. The results are solid, based on the largest sample ever considered in the study of bonobo growth and include both morphometric and endocrinological data. This work will be of interest to human evolutionary biologists, primatologists, and researchers studying the ontogeny and evolution of growth and development in general.

    Reviewed by eLife