eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Lack of ownership of mobile phones could hinder the rollout of mHealth interventions in Africa

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Justin T Okano
   2. Joan Ponce
   3. Matthias Krönke
   4. Sally Blower

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study used 2017-2018 Afrobarometer surveys of more than 45,000 individuals to examine the association between the ownership of mobile phones and proximity to a health clinic in 33 African countries. Findings show that about 40% of people own smartphones and those who live closer to health clinics are more likely to own a mobile phone. This manuscript will be of interest to all people who are involved in the design and implementation of mHealth interventions in Africa.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 and Reviewer #2 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

2. The NAD+ precursor NMN activates dSarm to trigger axon degeneration in Drosophila

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Arnau Llobet Rosell
   2. Maria Paglione
   3. Jonathan Gilley
   4. Magdalena Kocia
   5. Giulia Perillo
   6. Massimiliano Gasparrini
   7. Lucia Cialabrini
   8. Nadia Raffaelli
   9. Carlo Angeletti
   10. Giuseppe Orsomando
   11. Pei-Hsuan Wu
   12. Michael P Coleman
   13. Andrea Loreto
   14. Lukas Jakob Neukomm

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Regulation of NAD and its intermediary metabolites is of critical importance in axon degeneration and in neurodegenerative disease. In mammals, the SARM1 NADase has been shown to be a metabolic sensor activated by an increase in the NMN/NAD+ ratio and SARM1 activation then leads to catastrophic energetic collapse and axon degeneration in disease and injury. This manuscript clarifies the role of NMN in activating the axon degeneration trigger dSARM in Drosophila. The authors analyze the signaling role of NMN, a NAD precursor metabolite involved in injury-induced axon degeneration, by overexpressing NMN-D, a prokaryotic enzyme that consumes NMN, using a stabilized version allowing for prolonged NMN depletion, and find that it is strongly protective in several in vivo injury paradigms in flies. This paper will be of interest to those in the neurodegeneration/axon injury field in general as an extensive set of optimized reagents is presented, confirming the crucial role of for exploring NAD-related axon degenerative pathways, and providing tools for neuroscientists to use Drosophila as a model for neurodegenerative research.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Prolonged partner separation erodes nucleus accumbens transcriptional signatures of pair bonding in male prairie voles

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Julie M Sadino
   2. Xander G Bradeen
   3. Conor J Kelly
   4. Liza E Brusman
   5. Deena M Walker
   6. Zoe R Donaldson

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This work will be of interest to behavioral neuroscientists with a focus on social behavior. The interrogation of the transcriptional signature of pair-bonding, in both short and long-term, is unique and made possible with the use of the monogamous vole. That there is a "degrading" of the transcriptome of pair bonding following separation is evident but there is a gap in understanding how the gene expression changes relate to behavior.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Chemical Links Between Redox Conditions and Estimated Community Proteomes from 16S rRNA and Reference Protein Sequences

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Jeffrey M. Dick
   2. Jingqiang Tan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study presents an in-depth analyses of carbon oxidation state and hydration state of proteomes in different taxa and environmental settings, which contributes to our understanding of how microbial communities are shaped by their surroundings. The study has merit, but there also some technical weaknesses.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Tau seeds translocate across the cell membrane to initiate aggregation

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Dana A. Dodd
   2. Michael LaCroix
   3. Clarissa Valdez
   4. Gregory M. Knox
   5. Anthony R. Vega
   6. Ashwani Kumar
   7. Chao Xing
   8. Charles L. White
   9. Marc I. Diamond

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Deposition of hyperphosphorylated misfolded tau is a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases, but the exact mechanisms by which misfolded tau spreads to adjacent areas of the brain are not known. In this manuscript, which will be of broad interest to cell biologists and neuroscientists, the authors suggest that tau fibrils that translocate directly through the cell membrane induce aggregation of cytosolic tau. While the results appear stunning, there are alternative explanations to the authors' hypothesis that require further investigation.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Evolutionary rescue of phosphomannomutase deficiency in yeast models of human disease

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Ryan C Vignogna
   2. Mariateresa Allocca
   3. Maria Monticelli
   4. Joy W Norris
   5. Richard Steet
   6. Ethan O Perlstein
   7. Giuseppina Andreotti
   8. Gregory I Lang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Vignogna et al. used yeast genetics, experimental evolution and biochemistry to investigate human congenital disorders of glycosylation, often caused by mutations in PMM2. They took advantage of the observation that the budding yeast gene SEC53 is almost identical to human PMM2, and used experimental evolution to find interactors of SEC53/PMM2. Mutations in genes corresponding to other human CDG genes, including PGM1, were overrepresented. The mechanisms of how reduced pgm1 activity could compensate for defects of sec53 are not yet clear.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Fip1 is a multivalent interaction scaffold for processing factors in human mRNA 3′ end biogenesis

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Lena Maria Muckenfuss
   2. Anabel Carmen Migenda Herranz
   3. Franziska Maria Boneberg
   4. Marcello Clerici
   5. Martin Jinek

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The authors of this study characterize human Fip1, an important component of the 3' end processing machinery. They use X-ray crystallography to determine the molecular basis of the interactions between Fip1 and CPSF30 (at a 2:1 stoichiometry) and between Fip1 and CstF77 (at a 2:2 stoichiometry). Together with biochemical assays, they suggest that Fip1 may be central to regulating transitions with CPSF. The work will of relevance to colleagues interested in transcription and RNA processing.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Loss of full-length dystrophin expression results in major cell-autonomous abnormalities in proliferating myoblasts

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Maxime RF Gosselin
   2. Virginie Mournetas
   3. Malgorzata Borczyk
   4. Suraj Verma
   5. Annalisa Occhipinti
   6. Justyna Róg
   7. Lukasz Bozycki
   8. Michal Korostynski
   9. Samuel C Robson
   10. Claudio Angione
   11. Christian Pinset
   12. Dariusz C Gorecki

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This is an in-depth and rigorous analysis of transcriptomic changes in myogenic cells lacking dystrophin. Studies are made in both a mouse model and human subjects. the paper bears on possible roles of such alterations in pathogenesis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. They draw attention to new therapeutic interventions for this condition.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Stage-dependent differential influence of metabolic and structural networks on memory across Alzheimer’s disease continuum

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Kok Pin Ng
   2. Xing Qian
   3. Kwun Kei Ng
   4. Fang Ji
   5. Pedro Rosa-Neto
   6. Serge Gauthier
   7. Nagaendran Kandiah
   8. Juan Helen Zhou
   9. Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This work is of interest to neuroscientists and medical professionals involved in the study of Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative conditions. The findings provide important information about how potential network-based structural and metabolic imaging biomarkers are associated with memory performance during distinct disease stages, in line with previous hypothetical biomarker models. The study is conceptually and methodologically sound, although some aspects of the analysis and reporting of the results could be further clarified.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Predicting progression-free survival after systemic therapy in advanced head and neck cancer: Bayesian regression and model development

    This article has 22 authors:

    1. Paul R Barber
    2. Rami Mustapha
    3. Fabian Flores-Borja
    4. Giovanna Alfano
    5. Kenrick Ng
    6. Gregory Weitsman
    7. Luigi Dolcetti
    8. Ali Abdulnabi Suwaidan
    9. Felix Wong
    10. Jose M Vicencio
    11. Myria Galazi
    12. James W Opzoomer
    13. James N Arnold
    14. Selvam Thavaraj
    15. Shahram Kordasti
    16. Jana Doyle
    17. Jon Greenberg
    18. Magnus T Dillon
    19. Kevin J Harrington
    20. Martin Forster
    21. Anthony CC Coolen
    22. Tony Ng

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      Barber et al present a manuscript discussing predictive factors for chemotherapy efficacy in head and neck squamous cancer (HNSCC). The paper is well written, and its style/formatting are optimal. The baseline signature moderately predicted outcome, and the data after one cycle further improved the algorithm, though this decreases its utility as a pure predictive tool. It is interesting that a subpopulation of monocytes, a subset of white peripheral cells long suspected to correlate with outcomes in HNSCC was one of the key drivers of the algorithm. However the overall impact in the field of this work seems limited by a number of factors, including that the authors focused on immune cell subpopulations and exosomes, which narrows the scope (no cytokines or other biomarkers were included); the signatures were not prospectively validated on an independent cohort; the algorithm was developed around a first-line therapy that is no longer considered to be the standard of care for HNSCC; and, while most of the conclusions are supported by the data, some of the caveats (such as the lack of a validation cohort, key in predictive biomarker development), are not addressed.

      (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

    Reviewed by eLife