eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Pericytes control vascular stability and auditory spiral ganglion neuron survival

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Yunpei Zhang
   2. Lingling Neng
   3. Kushal Sharma
   4. Zhiqiang Hou
   5. Anatasiya Johnson
   6. Junha Song
   7. Alain Dabdoub
   8. Xiaorui Shi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents a valuable finding in identifying the roles of the pericytes in maintaining vascular volume and integrity of spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) in the cochlea, the main hearing organ. The evidence supporting the authors' claims is solid using an inducible and conditional pericyte depletion mouse model and the co-culture models. While the study provides a modest translational contribution, understanding the roles of organ-specific pericytes is paramount, making this study timely and significant. The work will be interesting for biomedical biologists working on hearing, blood vessels, signaling, and cell-to-cell interactions.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Within-host virus evolution during the extended treatment of RSV infection with mutagenic drugs

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Christopher J. R. Illingworth
   2. Alexandra Y. Kreins
   3. Adriana Margarit-Soler
   4. Tim Best
   5. Patricia Dyal
   6. Giovanna Lucchini
   7. Kanchan Rao
   8. Rachel Williams
   9. Austen Worth
   10. Judith Breuer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Illingworth et al. investigate the effectiveness of ribavirin and favipiravir on the treatment of a paediatric patient with chronic RSV and identify an increase in mutations caused by ribavirin while favipiravir had no apparent mutagenic effect. Strength of evidence is incomplete for the mathematical model and solid for the mutational load analysis with potential for improvement in both cases with clarification of the methods. Major strengths are an interesting hypothesis and appropriate modeling methodology that will be of interest to virologists, clinicians and evolutionary biologists. Weaknesses in methodology pertain to mutational load measures possibly also capturing clonal expansion of new mutants and lack of clarity about how viral fitness is related to viral load in the mathematical model.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. A mechanism of uncompetitive inhibition of the serotonin transporter

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Shreyas Bhat
   2. Ali El-Kasaby
   3. Ameya Kasture
   4. Danila Boytsov
   5. Julian B Reichelt
   6. Thomas Hummel
   7. Sonja Sucic
   8. Christian Pifl
   9. Michael Freissmuth
   10. Walter Sandtner

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents the important finding of an unusual uncompetitive inhibitor (ECSI#6) of the serotonin transporter that removes the neurotransmitter serotonin from the synaptic cleft. Through careful and comprehensive analysis, the authors convincingly show that the molecule most likely binds to the inward-facing and K+-bound state and that it assists in folding and targeting the transporter. The work will be of interest to those engaged in biophysical analyses of the serotonin transporter, and colleagues developing pharmacological chaperoning strategies for transporters in general.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Conformational and oligomeric states of SPOP from small-angle X-ray scattering and molecular dynamics simulations

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. F Emil Thomasen
   2. Matthew J Cuneo
   3. Tanja Mittag
   4. Kresten Lindorff-Larsen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this important paper, the authors have developed an approach for simultaneously optimizing the conformational ensemble and degrees of oligomerization, and this has been tested by applying it to a specific protein (SPOP). Comparison of the quality of fits with different models also provides valuable insights into structural features important to the assembly of oligomers. The approach, presented with compelling experimental support, is potentially applicable to other systems as well.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Synchronization of oscillatory growth prepares fungal hyphae for fusion

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Valentin Wernet
   2. Marius Kriegler
   3. Vojtech Kumpost
   4. Ralf Mikut
   5. Lennart Hilbert
   6. Reinhard Fischer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study combines live cell imaging and mathematical modeling to show how an emerging model fungus engages in an oscillatory chemical dialogue to prepare for cell-cell fusion. Cell data and modeling are in compelling agreement but leave many open questions as to the nature of coordination between cells and the significance of oscillations, rendering the strength of evidence in support of the authors' inferences incomplete.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. National Institutes of Health research project grant inflation 1998 to 2021

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Michael S Lauer
   2. Joy Wang
   3. Deepshikha Roychowdhury

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This is an important manuscript that provides support for the hypothesis that the relative increase in NIH funding matches the rate of overall inflation. The level of evidence is solid, and a clearer description of the analysis will further strengthen the manuscript. This paper should be of relevance to funders, investigators who are currently funded, and those who are seeking federal support.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Transcriptional control of motor pool formation and motor circuit connectivity by the LIM-HD protein Isl2

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Yunjeong Lee
   2. In Seo Yeo
   3. Namhee Kim
   4. Dong-Keun Lee
   5. Kyung-Tai Kim
   6. Jiyoung Yoon
   7. Jawoon Yi
   8. Young Bin Hong
   9. Byung-Ok Choi
   10. Yoichi Kosodo
   11. Daesoo Kim
   12. Jihwan Park
   13. Mi-Ryoung Song

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This paper will be of interest to developmental biologists who study the gene regulatory mechanisms necessary for neuronal identity and circuit assembly. The study presents important findings regarding the role of the LIM homeodomain transcription factor Isl2 in the development of spinal motor neurons. While the importance of Isl2 for the acquisition of axial and visceral motor neuron development was already described in the literature, the data convincingly describe an additional role in the differentiation of a subset of limb-innervating motor neurons.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Down-regulated GAS6 impairs synovial macrophage efferocytosis and promotes obesity-associated osteoarthritis

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Zihao Yao
   2. Weizhong Qi
   3. Hongbo Zhang
   4. Zhicheng Zhang
   5. Liangliang Liu
   6. Yan Shao
   7. Hua Zeng
   8. Jianbin Yin
   9. Haoyan Pan
   10. Xiongtian Guo
   11. Anling Liu
   12. Daozhang Cai
   13. Xiaochun Bai
   14. Haiyan Zhang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors demonstrate that patients with obesity-associated osteoarthritis and mice with the ApoE gene deficiency showed phenotypes of synovitis and enhanced macrophage infiltration in synovial tissues. Overall, this potentially important study is well-designed and carefully executed, although additional evidence is needed to fully support the authors' conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. MHC class I and MHC class II reporter mice enable analysis of immune oligodendroglia in mouse models of multiple sclerosis

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Em P Harrington
   2. Riley B Catenacci
   3. Matthew D Smith
   4. Dongeun Heo
   5. Cecilia E Miller
   6. Keya R Meyers
   7. Jenna Glatzer
   8. Dwight E Bergles
   9. Peter A Calabresi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study reports an important new resource, MHC class I and MHC class II reporter mice, which provide a means to monitor MHC activation in vivo. The authors use these mice to study inflammatory demyelination in two mouse models of multiple sclerosis. The study provides a compelling demonstration of the new reporter lines as a valuable tool for analysis of inflammation and neurodegeneration.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. TMS-evoked responses are driven by recurrent large-scale network dynamics

    This article has 3 authors:

    1. Davide Momi
    2. Zheng Wang
    3. John D Griffiths

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This manuscript presents a valuable new approach to modelling patterns of brain activity evoked by non-invasive brain stimulation, shedding light on how such stimulation drives neuronal dynamics. The performance of the model is impressive and its validity is supported by solid evidence. This work will be of interest to researchers working in computational neuroscience, neuroimaging, and non-invasive brain stimulation.

    Reviewed by eLife