eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Insights into substrate binding and utilization by hyaluronan synthase

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Zachery Stephens
   2. Julia Karasinska
   3. Jochen Zimmer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study addresses a fundamental question in glycobiology by elucidating how a single-site processive enzyme orchestrates the alternating addition of sugars to synthesize complex polysaccharides such as hyaluronan. The findings are compelling, providing a clear mechanistic framework supported by strong experimental validation. Major strengths include the integration of high-resolution structural data with rigorous biochemical analyses, resulting in a well-supported model of hyaluronan assembly.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. CROP2, a Retriever-PROPPIN Complex Mediating Protein Export from Endosomes to the Plasma Membrane

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Maria Giovanna De Leo
   2. Andreas Mayer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The authors present important evidence for a WIPI2-Retriever complex (termed CROP2) that couples cargo selection to carrier fission at endosomes. CROP2 appears to function analogously to the previously described CROP1 complex, formed by WIPI1 and Retromer, with which it shares structural similarities. They provide compelling evidence that CROP1 and CROP2 regulate the trafficking of distinct subsets of cargoes; however, the cellular evidence for the existence of these distinct complexes is mostly inferred from immunoprecipitation analysis and would benefit from further validation.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Niche exclusion of a lung pathogen in mice with designed probiotic communities

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Kelsey E Hern
   2. Ashlee M Phillips
   3. Catherine M Mageeney
   4. Kelly P Williams
   5. Anupama Sinha
   6. Hans K Carlson
   7. Kunal Poorey
   8. Nicole M Collette
   9. Steven S Branda
   10. Adam P Arkin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents a valuable framework for the rational design of bacterial probiotics to protect against respiratory infections. The evidence supporting the central claim - that metabolic niche overlap predicts probiotic efficacy - is solid, combining innovative in vitro modeling with in vivo validation, though the model appears less effective for probiotics that rely on antimicrobial metabolite production.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Heterogeneity of use, access and retention of insecticide-treated nets: implications for subnational tailoring to maximise malaria control

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Andrew C Glover
   2. Hannah Koenker
   3. El Hadji Amadou Niang
   4. Kate Kolaczinski
   5. Thomas S Churcher

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This work presents fundamental findings on the probability of use and access of inseticide-treated nets and evaluates the effectiveness of different distribution strategies in six African countries. The authors propose a sophisticated methodological framework that accounts for many sources of uncertainty, providing compelling strength of evidence.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Global molecular landscape of early MASLD progression in human obesity

   This article has 21 authors:

   1. Qing Zhao
   2. William De Nardo
   3. Ruoyu Wang
   4. Yi Zhong
   5. Umur Keles
   6. Gabriele Sakalauskaite
   7. Li Na Zhao
   8. Huiyi Tay
   9. Sonia Youhanna
   10. Mengchao Yan
   11. Ye Xie
   12. Youngrae Kim
   13. Sungdong Lee
   14. Rachel Liyu Lim
   15. Guoshou Teo
   16. Pradeep Narayanaswamy
   17. Paul R Burton
   18. Volker M Lauschke
   19. Hyungwon Choi
   20. Matthew J Watt
   21. Philipp Kaldis

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The authors provide a useful resource and approach to identify early-stage biomarkers of MASLD progression, notably when no other apparent symptoms have arisen. The strength of evidence to support new MASLD signatures is solid as the work combines metabolomic and transcriptomic measures in blood and liver biopsies.

     [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

   Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

6. Single molecule counting detects low-copy glycine receptors in hippocampal and striatal synapses

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Serena Camuso
   2. Yana Vella
   3. Souad Youjil Abadi
   4. Clémence Mille
   5. Bert Brône
   6. Christian G Specht

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The study presents convincing quantitative evidence, supported by appropriate negative controls, for the presence of low-abundance glycine receptors (GlyRs) within inhibitory synapses in telencephalic regions of the mouse brain. Using sensitive single-molecule localization microscopy of endogenously tagged GlyRs, the authors reveal previously undetected populations of these receptors. Although the functional significance of these low-abundance GlyRs remains to be established, the findings offer valuable insights and methodologies that will be of interest to neuroscientists studying inhibitory synapse biology.

     [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

   Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

7. Lenacapavir-induced Lattice Hyperstabilization is Central to HIV-1 Capsid Failure at the Nuclear Pore Complex and in the Cytoplasm

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Arpa Hudait
   2. Ryan C Burdick
   3. Ellie K Bare
   4. Vinay K Pathak
   5. Gregory A Voth

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study investigates how the HIV inhibitor lenacapavir influences capsid mechanics and interactions with the nuclear pore complex. It provides important insights into how drug-induced hyperstabilization of the viral shell can compromise its structural integrity during nuclear entry. The modeling is technically sophisticated, and the analyses provide convincing support for the mechanistic conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Linear and categorical coding units in the mouse gustatory cortex drive population dynamics and behavior in taste decision-making

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Liam Lang
   2. Camelia Yuejiao Zheng
   3. Jennifer M Blackwell
   4. Giancarlo La Camera
   5. Alfredo Fontanini

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important work advances our understanding of the single neuron coding types in the mouse gustatory cortex and the functional roles of these neurons for perceptual decision-making. The conclusions are based on compelling evidence from rigorous behavioral experiments, high-density electrophysiology, sophisticated data analysis, and neural network modeling with in silico perturbations of functionally-identified units. This work will be of broad interest to systems neuroscientists.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Reactivation-coupled brain stimulation enables complete learning generalization

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Yibo Xie
   2. Minmin Wang
   3. Yuan Gao
   4. Baoyu Wu
   5. Shaomin Zhang
   6. Mengyuan Gong
   7. Zoe Kourtzi
   8. Ke Jia

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study shows that combining reactivation-based training with anodal tDCS yields an unusually broad generalization of visual perceptual learning, while preserving robust learning gains and markedly reducing total training time. Although the empirical evidence is solid, the proposed mechanistic account, i.e., the GABA modulation, disrupted offline consolidation and reduced perceptual overfitting, remains insufficiently substantiated, as these assumptions lack direct neurochemical support, and several alternative behavioral explanations and necessary control comparisons have not been fully addressed. The work will be of broad interest to researchers investigating brain plasticity, perceptual learning, and rehabilitation training.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. The structural context of mutations in proteins predicts their effect on antibiotic resistance

    This article has 4 authors:

    1. Anna G Green
    2. Mahbuba Tasmin
    3. Roger Vargas
    4. Maha R Farhat

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This valuable study leverages a large global dataset of tens of thousands of tuberculosis samples to place recurrent protein-coding mutations into their three-dimensional structural context, offering an expanded view of how antibiotic resistance emerges compared to traditional genetic analyses alone. The strength of evidence is convincing, supported by the scale and breadth of the dataset and the systematic structural analysis, although some of the assumptions made in the the modeling approach are only partially supported. Overall, the work will be of broad interest to researchers studying microbial evolution, antibiotic resistance, and structure-function relationships in pathogens.

    Reviewed by eLife