Latest preprint reviews

1. An antisense oligonucleotide-based strategy to ameliorate cognitive dysfunction in the 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Pratibha Thakur
   2. Martin Lackinger
   3. Anastasia Diamantopoulou
   4. Sneha Rao
   5. Yijing Chen
   6. Khakima Khalizova
   7. Annie Ferng
   8. Curt Mazur
   9. Holly Kordasiewicz
   10. Robert J Shprintzen
   11. Sander Markx
   12. Bin Xu
   13. Joseph A Gogos

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The presented evidence is compelling given a range of complementary and mutually supportive studies. Experiments are generally robustly conducted and well-presented, supporting the claims regarding miRNA mechanisms converging on EMC10 overexpression with 22q11 Del. This is an important study that works to establish a novel antisense oligonucleotide-based approach to treating 22q11.2 deletion syndrome; the findings are likely to advance therapeutic efforts. The authors provide evidence both in vitro in patient-derived iPSCs and in vivo in a 22q11 Del mouse supporting the knockdown (KD) of EMC10 as an effective strategy for the amelioration of neuronal and behavioral deficits.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. RAS-p110a signalling in macrophages is required for effective inflammatory response and resolution of inflammation

   This article has 19 authors:

   1. Alejandro Rosell
   2. Agata A Krygowska
   3. Marta Alcón Pérez
   4. Cristina Cuesta
   5. Mathieu-Benoit Voisin
   6. Juan de Paz
   7. Héctor Sanz-Fraile
   8. Vinothini Rajeeve
   9. Alberto Berral-González
   10. Ana Carreras-González
   11. Ottilie Swinyard
   12. Enrique Gabandé-Rodriguez
   13. Julian Downward
   14. Jordi Alcaraz
   15. Juan Anguita
   16. Carmen García-Macías
   17. Javier De Las Rivas
   18. Pedro Cutillas
   19. Esther Castellano

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This useful study investigates the impact of disrupting the interaction of RAS with the PI3K subunit p110α in macrophage function in vitro and inflammatory responses in vivo. Solid data overall supports a role for RAS-p110α signalling in regulating macrophage activity and so inflammation, however for many of the readouts presented the magnitude of the phenotype is not particularly pronounced. Further analysis would be required to substantiate the claims that RAS-p110α signalling plays a key role in macrophage function. Of note, the molecular mechanisms of how exactly p110α regulates the functions in macrophages have not yet been established.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Introduction of cytosine-5 DNA methylation sensitizes cells to oxidative damage

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. J Krwawicz
   2. CJ Sheeba
   3. K Hains
   4. T McMahon
   5. Y Zhang
   6. S Kriaucionis
   7. P Sarkies

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important work advances our understanding of DNA methylation and its consequences for susceptibility to DNA damage. This work presents evidence that DNA methylation can accentuate the genomic damage propagated by DNA damaging agents as well as potentially being an independent source of such damage. The experimental results reported are sound but the evidence presented to support the conclusions drawn is incomplete and other interpretations are possible. The work will be of broad interest to biochemists, cell and genome biologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. TET2 contributes to gluconeogenesis and pathology of type 2 diabetes

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Xinchao Zhang
   2. Hongchen Li
   3. Shuyan Li
   4. Ziyi Cui
   5. Xinyu Zhao
   6. Haijie Ma
   7. Ming Xu
   8. Yanping Xu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Zhang et al. present important findings that reveal a new role for TET2 in controlling glucose production in the liver, showing that both fasting and a high-fat diet increase TET2 levels, while its absence reduces glucose production. TET2 works with HNF4α to activate the FBP1 gene upon glucagon stimulation, while metformin disrupts TET2-HNF4α interaction, lowering FBP1 levels and improving glucose homeostasis. While the results are solid, more details about the mechanisms and methods are needed to strengthen the study's conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Maf-family bZIP transcription factor NRL interacts with RNA-binding proteins and R-loops in retinal photoreceptors

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Ximena Corso-Díaz
   2. Xulong Liang
   3. Kiam Preston
   4. Bilguun Tegshee
   5. Milton A English
   6. Jacob Nellissery
   7. Sharda Prasad Yadav
   8. Claire Marchal
   9. Anand Swaroop

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study employed multiple orthogonal techniques and tissue samples to investigate the interaction between the NRL transcription factor and RNA-binding proteins in the retina. The findings are solid to support an interaction between NRL and the DHX9 helicase. However, the evidence for an interaction between the NRL transcription factor and R-loops is less conclusive. The significance of the study could be enhanced by examining the functional role of NRL interactions with R-loops in the developing retina, which would offer new insights into the gene regulatory networks.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Protonation/deprotonation-driven switch for the redox stability of low-potential [4Fe-4S] ferredoxin

   This article has 18 authors:

   1. Kei Wada
   2. Kenji Kobayashi
   3. Iori Era
   4. Yusuke Isobe
   5. Taigo Kamimura
   6. Masaki Marukawa
   7. Takayuki Nagae
   8. Kazuki Honjo
   9. Noriko Kaseda
   10. Yumiko Motoyama
   11. Kengo Inoue
   12. Masakazu Sugishima
   13. Katsuhiro Kusaka
   14. Naomine Yano
   15. Keiichi Fukuyama
   16. Masaki Mishima
   17. Yasutaka Kitagawa
   18. Masaki Unno

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Ferredoxins are ubiquitous electron transfer proteins that drive essential metabolic processes across all domains of life. This fundamental contribution to the field provides the first description of how specific amino acids, though a series of hydrogen bonds, control the ability of iron-sulfur clusters in ferrodoxins to accept and donate electrons. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling as is the combined use of neutron crystallography with X-ray crystallography and classical spectral/redox studies.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Basal Cambrian soft-bodied segmented bilaterians preserved as microbial pseudomorphs

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Xiaoguang Yang
   2. Deng Wang
   3. Zhiliang Zhang
   4. Xing Wang
   5. Jie Sun
   6. Wenjing Hao
   7. Yiqun Liu
   8. Kentaro Uesugi
   9. Tsuyoshi Komiya
   10. Jian Han

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript describes valuable new material of small, unusually preserved fossils from deep in the Cambrian of China and argues they represent very early bilaterian animals such as annelids or panarthropods. The authors present convincing evidence of the fossilisation of specimens as microbial pseudomorphs, however, the fossils show few details and it is difficult to assess their affinity. The broader claims made about the timing and nature of the Cambrian explosion are inadequately supported by the material, given that bilaterians were already known to exist during that period.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Osterix Facilitates Osteocytic Communication by Targeting Connexin43

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Zuping Wu
   2. Qian Chen
   3. Qian Gao
   4. Muchun Liang
   5. Yumeng Zhou
   6. Li Zhu
   7. Jiahe Wang
   8. Yang Shen
   9. Junjun Jing
   10. Jing Xie
   11. Xiaoheng Liu
   12. Shujuan Zou
   13. Demao Zhang
   14. Chenchen Zhou

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study offers valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms by which Osx influences osteocyte function, particularly through its regulation of Cx43. However, the evidence supporting the authors' claims is incomplete, necessitating additional experimental data and further investigation to fully substantiate these findings. While this study presents a new perspective on the complex role of Osx in bone biology, it also raises significant questions about the intricacies of its regulatory network.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Mapping HIV-1 RNA Structure, Homodimers, Long-Range Interactions and persistent domains by HiCapR

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Yan Zhang
   2. Jingwan Han
   3. Dejian Xie
   4. Wenlong Shen
   5. Ping Li
   6. Jian You Lau
   7. Jingyun Li
   8. Lin Li
   9. Grzegorz Kudla
   10. Zhihu Zhao

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript focuses on the identification of RNA crosslinks within the HIV RNA genome under different conditions i.e. in infected cells and in virions using a new method called HiCapR. These cross-links reveal long-range interactions that can be used to determine the structural arrangement of the viral RNA, providing useful data that show differences in the genomic organization in different conditions. The data analysis, however, is incomplete and based on extensive computational analysis from a limited number of datasets, which are in need of experimental validation.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. A single-cell atlas of spatial and temporal gene expression in the mouse cranial neural plate

    This article has 9 authors:

    1. Eric R Brooks
    2. Andrew R Moorman
    3. Bhaswati Bhattacharya
    4. Ian Prudhomme
    5. Max Land
    6. Heather L Alcorn
    7. Roshan Sharma
    8. Dana Pe’er
    9. Jennifer A Zallen

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This study reports an important new scRNAseq atlas of the mouse cranial neural plate during neural induction, patterning, and morphogenesis. The study includes a robust analysis of scRNAseq datasets covering six distinct developmental stages, as well as data describing the global transcriptional response of neural plate cells to a key ventralizing signaling molecule, Sonic Hedgehog. The computational data and validation of gene expression patterns are convincing, making this a helpful resource for investigators studying the early development of the cranial neural plate and cranial mesoderm.

    Reviewed by eLife