eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Evidence for absence of links between striatal dopamine synthesis capacity and working memory capacity, spontaneous eye-blink rate, and trait impulsivity

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Ruben van den Bosch
   2. Frank H Hezemans
   3. Jessica I Määttä
   4. Lieke Hofmans
   5. Danae Papadopetraki
   6. Robbert-Jan Verkes
   7. Andre F Marquand
   8. Jan Booij
   9. Roshan Cools

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This fundamental work shows the absence of links between striatal dopamine synthesis capacity and working memory capacity, spontaneous eye-blink rate, and trait impulsivity. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, with rigorous PET investigations and state-of-the-art cognitive assessments in a large sample. Given the high interest in the role of dopamine, the work will be of very broad interest to basic neuroscientists, clinical neuroscientists, and clinicians including neurologists and psychiatrists.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Defects in lipid homeostasis reflect the function of TANGO2 in phospholipid and neutral lipid metabolism

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Agustin Leonardo Lujan
   2. Ombretta Foresti
   3. Conor Sugden
   4. Nathalie Brouwers
   5. Alex Mateo Farre
   6. Alessio Vignoli
   7. Mahshid Azamian
   8. Alicia Turner
   9. Jose Wojnacki
   10. Vivek Malhotra

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important manuscript describes a series of cellular phenotypes associated with the depletion of TANGO2, a poorly characterized gene product but relevant to neurological and muscular disorders. The authors present solid data indicating that TANGO2 associates with membrane-bound organelles, mainly mitochondria, impacting lipid metabolism and the accumulation of reactive-oxygen species. A few additional experiments would help to understand the link between the lipid changes reported and the cellular phenotype.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Microcephaly-associated protein WDR62 shuttles from the Golgi apparatus to the spindle poles in human neural progenitors

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Claudia Dell'Amico
   2. Marilyn M Angulo Salavarria
   3. Yutaka Takeo
   4. Ichiko Saotome
   5. Maria Teresa Dell'Anno
   6. Maura Galimberti
   7. Enrica Pellegrino
   8. Elena Cattaneo
   9. Angeliki Louvi
   10. Marco Onorati

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The paper is of interest to neuroscientists, developmental biologists, and those interested in mechanisms that underlie intellectual disability. The study is well executed and brings new insight into the role of WDR62 and its role in causing microcephaly. The key claims of the manuscript require additional data.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Allele-specific gene-editing approach for vision loss restoration in RHO-associated retinitis pigmentosa

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Xiaozhen Liu
   2. Jing Qiao
   3. Ruixuan Jia
   4. Fan Zhang
   5. Xiang Meng
   6. Yang Li
   7. Liping Yang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     **eLife assessment
     **
     This work provides a valuable allele-specific gene editing therapeutic approach to selectively target the human RHO-T17M mutation, one of the most frequent genetic causes of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa. However, the current data are incomplete. Further validation of gene editing efficiency in rods at cellular level in vivo and use of Rho-T17M mice will strengthen the conclusion.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Lifelong regeneration of cerebellar Purkinje cells after induced cell ablation in zebrafish

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Sol Pose-Méndez
   2. Paul Schramm
   3. Barbara Winter
   4. Jochen C Meier
   5. Konstantinos Ampatzis
   6. Reinhard W Köster

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The present manuscript addresses the controversial issue of the regeneration potential of cerebellar Purkinje cells in zebrafish and their integration into functional circuits. The authors use interesting genetic models to induce Purkinje cell-specific ablation to demonstrate regeneration of Purkinje cells can occur until adulthood and is accomplished by ptf1a+ progenitors. They further show that regenerated neurons reestablish electrophysiological properties and support appropriate behavior. These are important results that may help understand why mammalian neurons do not have similar properties and fail to regenerate. The conclusions on the source of regenerated neurons will however need additional experimental support.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Ventral striatum dopamine release encodes unique properties of visual stimuli in mice

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. L Sofia Gonzalez
   2. Austen A Fisher
   3. Shane P D'Souza
   4. Evelin M Cotella
   5. Richard A Lang
   6. J Elliott Robinson

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this manuscript, Gonzalez et al investigated the dynamics of dopamine signals in the lateral shell of the nucleus accumbens (LNAc) in response to different types of carefully defined visual stimuli. Contrary to reigning theories of dopamine signaling, the authors presented convincing evidence that LNAcc dopamine transients tracked visual sensory transitions rather than any immediately apparent motivational variable. These important findings based on compelling evidence point to a potentially new role for dopamine signaling in the ventral striatum.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Cryo-EM structure of the endothelin-1-ETB-Gi complex

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Fumiya K Sano
   2. Hiroaki Akasaka
   3. Wataru Shihoya
   4. Osamu Nureki

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Based on the Cryo-EM structure of human ETB in complex with the vasoconstricting peptide ET-1 and the inhibitory G-protein (Gi), this valuable study presents convincing data on how agonist binding is coupled to Gi-protein binding. The complex structure is solid and will appeal to the GPCR and pharmacology communities.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Characterisation of an Escherichia coli line that completely lacks ribonucleotide reduction yields insights into the evolution of parasitism and endosymbiosis

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Samantha DM Arras
   2. Nellie Sibaeva
   3. Ryan J Catchpole
   4. Nobuyuki Horinouchi
   5. Dayong Si
   6. Alannah M Rickerby
   7. Kengo Deguchi
   8. Makoto Hibi
   9. Koichi Tanaka
   10. Michiki Takeuchi
   11. Jun Ogawa
   12. Anthony M Poole

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Nearly all organisms require a ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) to convert ribonucleotides to their deoxyribonucleotide counterparts. In this important study, the reader learns how the model organism Escherichia coli can adapt to survive without any of its three RNRs. Compelling microbiology experiments to develop this model and analysis of compensatory mutations reveals patterns that are conserved in the few known pathogens that have also eliminated their dependence on an RNR. The manuscript will be of interest to microbiologists, biochemists, and those who work on the evolution of microbial metabolism.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Retinal motion statistics during natural locomotion

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Karl S Muller
   2. Jonathan Matthis
   3. Kathryn Bonnen
   4. Lawrence K Cormack
   5. Alex C Huk
   6. Mary Hayhoe

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study should be of interest to vision scientists and those seeking to model naturalistic image processing for humans in simulated or real navigational [walking] situations. The experiments aim to provide information about the statistics of "retinal" motion patterns generated by human participants physically walking a straight path in real terrains that differ in "smoothness". State-of-the-art eye, head, and body tracking allowed simultaneous assessment of eye movements, head movements, and gait, with convincing evidence for an asymmetrical gradient of flow speeds during walking, tied predominantly to vertical gaze angle, together with a radial motion direction distribution tied most critically on horizontal gaze angle. While not a major weakness per se, additional details on analytical methods used and estimations of variance across observers would strengthen these results and clarify the basis of the global claims made about visual motion information across the visual field in walking humans.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Flexible control of representational dynamics in a disinhibition-based model of decision-making

    This article has 3 authors:

    1. Bo Shen
    2. Kenway Louie
    3. Paul Glimcher

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This work provides a promising first pass at providing an integrative model for how decisions arise from neural circuits. The approach is novel but lacks a more rigorous vetting against alternative model formulations to be able to determine its true significance. More stringent evaluations of the model in the context of existing work, as well as a clearer description of the goals and implementation of the approach, would help to address these concerns.

    Reviewed by eLife