eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Neural basis of cognitive control signals in anterior cingulate cortex during delay discounting

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Jeremy K Seamans
   2. Shelby White
   3. Mitchell Morningstar
   4. Eldon Emberly
   5. David Linsenbardt
   6. Baofeng Ma
   7. Cristine L Czachowski
   8. Christopher C Lapish

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors present a potentially useful approach of broad interest arguing that anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) tracks option values in decisions involving delayed rewards. The authors introduce the idea of a resource-based cognitive effort signal in ACC ensembles and link ACC theta oscillations to a resistance-based strategy. The evidence supporting these new ideas is incomplete and would benefit from additional detail and more rigorous analyses and computational methods.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Systems genomics of salinity stress response in rice

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Sonal Gupta
   2. Simon C Groen
   3. Maricris L Zaidem
   4. Andres Godwin C Sajise
   5. Irina Calic
   6. Mignon A Natividad
   7. Kenneth L McNally
   8. Georgina V Vergara
   9. Rahul Satija
   10. Steven J Franks
   11. Rakesh K Singh
   12. Zoé Joly-Lopez
   13. Michael D Purugganan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Working with a diverse panel of field-grown rice accessions, this valuable study measures changes in transcript abundance, tests for patterns of selection on gene expression, and maps the genetic basis of variation in gene expression in normal and high salinity conditions. The authors provide solid evidence that salinity treatment increases the number of genes with mean expression levels away from the optimum, and that a relatively small number of genes are hotspots for genetic variants that affect genome-wide patterns of variation in gene expression under high salinity. The design, clarity, and interpretation of several statistical analyses can be improved, additional opportunities for integration among datasets and analyses could be realized, and genetic manipulation would be required to confirm the functional involvement of any specific genes in regulatory networks or organismal traits that confer adaptation to higher salinity conditions. The manuscript will not only be of interest to evolutionary biologists studying the genetics of complex traits, but it will also be a resource for plant biologists studying mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Stochastic tug-of-war among sarcomeres mediates cardiomyocyte response to environmental stiffness

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Daniel Haertter
   2. Lara Hauke
   3. Til Driehorst
   4. Kengo Nishi
   5. Wolfram-Hubertus Zimmermann
   6. Christoph F Schmidt

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study provides a valuable characterization of individual sarcomere's contractility and synchrony in spontaneously beating cardiomyocytes as a function of substrate stiffness. The authors, however, provide an incomplete explanation for the observed heterogeneous and stochastic dynamics, so that the work remains mainly descriptive. The work will be of interest to scientists working on muscle biophysics, nonlinear dynamics, and synchronization phenomena in biological systems.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Nuclear translocation of SIRT4 mediates deacetylation of U2AF2 to modulate renal fibrosis through alternative splicing-mediated upregulation of CCN2

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Guangyan Yang
   2. Jiaqing Xiang
   3. Xiaoxiao Yang
   4. Xiaomai Liu
   5. Yanchun Li
   6. Lixing Li
   7. Lin Kang
   8. Zhen Liang
   9. Shu Yang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study demonstrates a novel role for SIRT4; a mitochondrial deacetylase, shown to translocate into nuclei where it regulates RNA alternative splicing by modulating U2AF2 and the gene expression of CCN2 in tubular cells in response to TGF-β. This fundamental work substantially advances our understanding of kidney fibrosis development and offers a potential therapeutic approach. The evidence supporting the conclusions of a SIRT4-U2AF2-CCN2 axis activated by TGF-β is compelling and adds a new layer of complexity to the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. A human forebrain organoid model reveals the essential function of GTF2IRD1-TTR-ERK axis for the neurodevelopmental deficits of Williams Syndrome

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Xingsen Zhao
   2. Qihang Sun
   3. Yikai Shou
   4. Weijun Chen
   5. Mengxuan Wang
   6. Wenzheng Qu
   7. Xiaoli Huang
   8. Ying Li
   9. Chao Wang
   10. Yan Gu
   11. Chai Ji
   12. Qiang Shu
   13. Xuekun Li

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Zhao et al. report valuable adverse effects on cell proliferation, differentiation and gene expression, possibly linked to reduced binding activity of the transcription factor GTF2IRD1 to the transthyretin (TTR) promoter, in a human forebrain organoid model of Williams Syndrome (WS). The authors provide incomplete evidence of the effects of GTF2IRD1, a mutated gene in WS, on altering MAPK/ERK pathway activity, a well-recognized target in cell proliferation.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. RAG suppresses group 2 innate lymphoid cells

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Aaron M Ver Heul
   2. Madison Mack
   3. Lydia Zamidar
   4. Masato Tamari
   5. Ting-Lin Yang
   6. Anna M Trier
   7. Do-Hyun Kim
   8. Hannah Janzen-Meza
   9. Steven J Van Dyken
   10. Chyi-Song Hsieh
   11. Jenny M Karo
   12. Joseph C Sun
   13. Brian S Kim

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study provides new insights into the expression profile of ILCs that demonstrate a history of RAG expression. It examines in part the potential intrinsic regulation of RAG expression and seeks to understand how the epigenetic state of ILCs is established, although a full understanding of intrinsic factors is incomplete. The work provides an important molecular dataset, and with further strengthening of the understanding of intrinsic regulation, this paper would be of interest more broadly to cell biologists seeking to understand immune cell development.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Fast evolutionary turnover and overlapping variances of sex-biased gene expression patterns defy a simple binary classification of sexes

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Chen Xie
   2. Sven Kuenzel
   3. Diethard Tautz

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This is a useful study on sex differences in gene expression across organs of four mice taxa, although there are some shortcomings in the data analyses and interpretations that should to be better placed in the broader context of the current literature. Hence, the evidence in the current form is incomplete, with several overstated key conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. IL-2 enhances effector function but suppresses follicular localization of CD8+ T cells in chronic infection

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Yaping Chen
   2. Pengcheng Zhou
   3. Patrick Marc Gubser
   4. Yew Ann Leong
   5. Jing He
   6. Yunbo Wei
   7. Fadzai Victor Makota
   8. Mehrdad Pazhouhandeh
   9. Ting Zheng
   10. Joseph Yunis
   11. Zhanguo Li
   12. Axel Kallies
   13. Di Yu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This paper provides valuable findings related to the impact and timing of exogenous interleukin 2 on the balance of exhausted (Tex) versus effector (Teff) that differentiate from precursors T cells (Tpex) during chronic viral infection. While the data appear solid, the overall claims that IL-2 suppresses Tpex are only partially supported, with the rationale for the timing of IL-2 treatment and its underlying mechanisms remaining unclear.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. SARS-CoV-2 NSP13 interacts with TEAD to suppress Hippo-YAP signaling

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Fansen Meng
   2. Jong Hwan Kim
   3. Chang-Ru Tsai
   4. Jeffrey D Steimle
   5. Jun Wang
   6. Yufeng Shi
   7. Rich G Li
   8. Bing Xie
   9. Vaibhav Deshmukh
   10. Shijie Liu
   11. Xiao Li
   12. James F Martin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study reports the molecular function of the SARS-CoV-2 helicase NSP13, which inhibits the transcriptional activity of the YAP/TEAD complex in vitro and in vivo. The evidence supporting the authors' claims is solid, with rigorous cell biological assays and multi-omic studies. This work will be of interest to scientists studying COVID-19 infection and the Hippo-YAP signaling pathway.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Additional feedforward mechanism of Parkin activation via binding of phospho-UBL and RING0 in trans

    This article has 7 authors:

    1. Dipti Ranjan Lenka
    2. Shakti Virendra Dahe
    3. Odetta Antico
    4. Pritiranjan Sahoo
    5. Alan R Prescott
    6. Miratul MK Muqit
    7. Atul Kumar

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This is a useful manuscript describing the competitive binding between Parkin domains to define the importance of dimerization in the mechanism of Parkin regulation and catalytic activity. The evidence supporting the importance of Parkin dimerization for an 'in trans' model of Parkin activity described in this manuscript is solid, but lacks more stringent and biochemical characterization of competitive binding that could provide more direct evidence to support the author's conclusions. This work will be of interest to those focused on defining the molecular mechanisms involved in ubiquitin ligase interactions, PINK-Parkin-mediated mitophagy, and mitochondrial organellar quality control.

    Reviewed by eLife