eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. A CRISPR-based rapid DNA repositioning strategy and the early intranuclear life of HSV-1

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Juan Xiang
   2. Chaoyang Fan
   3. Hongchang Dong
   4. Yilei Ma
   5. Pei Xu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment:

     In this important work, the authors describe a recombinant CRISPR/Cas9 construct, CRISPR-nuPin, that has the reported capacity to rapidly tether DNA to the inner nuclear membrane of cells. They then evaluate the effect of this construct on Herpes Simplex virus type 1 infection, identifying different phases of viral replication susceptible to inner nuclear membrane tethering. This work provides convincing evidence for the effects of intranuclear DNA localization on viral gene expression and replication, using a method applicable to nonviral genes as well.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Functional membrane microdomains and the hydroxamate siderophore transporter ATPase FhuC govern Isd-dependent heme acquisition in Staphylococcus aureus

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Lea Antje Adolf
   2. Angelika Müller-Jochim
   3. Lara Kricks
   4. Jan-Samuel Puls
   5. Daniel Lopez
   6. Fabian Grein
   7. Simon Heilbronner

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment:

     In this fundamental manuscript, the authors provide compelling evidence that a housekeeping ATPase is required for heme utilization in the important pathogen Staphylococcus aureus through its interaction with the canonical heme transporter in this organism. The authors convincingly show that this complex associates with functional membrane microdomains and thus establishes a new paradigm for regional localization of the heme transport system in the staphylococci. The work will be of interest to microbiologists, particularly those studying transport for macromolecules.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. The generation of HepG2 transmitochondrial cybrids to reveal the role of mitochondrial genotype in idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Amy Louise Ball
   2. Carol E Jolly
   3. Mark G Lennon
   4. Jonathan J Lyon
   5. Ana Alfirevic
   6. Amy E Chadwick

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This paper is of potential interest to scientists within the field of drug-induced liver injury. The concept of the study is interesting by generating mitochondrial genotype-specific liver cell lines to evaluate idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity. While the proof-of-concept is clearly presented, the current data do not yet allow to draw broad conclusions about the significance of the study in terms of drug effects.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Single-cell RNA-seq of heart reveals intercellular communication drivers of myocardial fibrosis in diabetic cardiomyopathy

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Wei Li
   2. Xinqi Lou
   3. Yingjie Zha
   4. Yinyin Qin
   5. Jun Zha
   6. Lei Hong
   7. Zhanli Xie
   8. Shudi Yang
   9. Chen Wang
   10. Jianzhong An
   11. Zhenhao Zhang
   12. Shigang Qiao

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The precise cellular and molecular mechanisms and signaling mediators underpinning the development of cardiomyopathy and heart failure in diabetes still remains unclear. In-depth investigations of the cardiac heterogeneity and cell-to-cell interactions could be of use to reveal the pathogenesis of diabetic myocardial fibrosis and thereby identify potential targets for the treatment of cardiac myopathy and heart failure. Utilizing a mouse model as well as in-vitro studies, this manuscript demonstrates cardiac cell mapping that provides novel insights into novel drivers of intercellular communication contributing to pathological extracellular matrix remodeling during diabetic myocardial fibrosis. The work provides compelling and convincing evidence to improve the understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of diabetes-induced cardiac pathology.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Identification of a GABAergic neural circuit governing leptin signaling deficiency-induced obesity

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Yong Han
   2. Yang He
   3. Lauren Harris
   4. Yong Xu
   5. Qi Wu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Leptin is a fat-derived hormone that curbs appetite, and mutation of leptin causes obesity and diabetes. This manuscript investigates leptin-responsive neural circuits, revealing a key inhibitory connection from leptin-sensitive neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (AGRP neurons) to neurons in the dorsomedial hypothalamus. Toggling this inhibitory connection impacted leptin effects on feeding and metabolism. The study contains valuable data, including several interesting molecular genetic systems and the demonstration of GABA signaling in the DMH for the control of food intake, however, there is inadequate information about experimental design, including a lack of quantification and controls, and unjustified assumptions.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Dating the origin and spread of specialization on human hosts in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Noah H Rose
   2. Athanase Badolo
   3. Massamba Sylla
   4. Jewelna Akorli
   5. Sampson Otoo
   6. Andrea Gloria-Soria
   7. Jeffrey R Powell
   8. Bradley J White
   9. Jacob E Crawford
   10. Carolyn S McBride

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This fundamental study by Rose and colleagues addresses key challenges in demographic inference in non-model systems with an innovative approach to model parameter calibration based on known historical events. Using this approach, they convincingly show that human specialization in Ae. aegypti mosquitoes likely evolved due to a past climate event around 5,000 years ago, and that recent rapid urbanization has continued to fuel its spread in West Africa in the past 20-40 years. This work will be of broad interest to population geneticists working on demographic inference, and to mosquito biologists working on the monitoring and control of this important vector species.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Insights into cargo sorting by SNX32 and its role in neurite outgrowth

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Jini Sugatha
   2. Amulya Priya
   3. Prateek Raj
   4. Ebsy Jaimon
   5. Uma Swaminathan
   6. Anju Jose
   7. Thomas John Pucadyil
   8. Sunando Datta

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript presents a series of important findings about the roles of the BAR-domain containing protein SNX32 in endosomal cargo sorting and in neurite outgrowth. The authors provide convincing evidence for their claims, which will be of interest for those working not only in membrane trafficking but also for cell biologists in general with interest in neurobiology.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. The photosystem I supercomplex from a primordial green alga Ostreococcus tauri harbors three light-harvesting complex trimers

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Asako Ishii
   2. Jianyu Shan
   3. Xin Sheng
   4. Eunchul Kim
   5. Akimasa Watanabe
   6. Makio Yokono
   7. Chiyo Noda
   8. Chihong Song
   9. Kazuyoshi Murata
   10. Zhenfeng Liu
   11. Jun Minagawa

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The fundamental work represents an important contribution to our understanding of the diversity of photosynthetic mechanisms across the branches of phototrophic life, with the first high-resolution structure (2.9 Å) of a photosynthetic complex from a primitive green alga. This is a valuable resource for understanding function and evolution of light-harvesting antennas. The evidence is convincing in suggesting that the mechanism found here is distinct from the classical antenna state transitions seen in other organisms studied thus far.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Model-based whole-brain perturbational landscape of neurodegenerative diseases

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Yonatan Sanz Perl
   2. Sol Fittipaldi
   3. Cecilia Gonzalez Campo
   4. Sebastián Moguilner
   5. Josephine Cruzat
   6. Matias E Fraile-Vazquez
   7. Rubén Herzog
   8. Morten L Kringelbach
   9. Gustavo Deco
   10. Pavel Prado
   11. Agustin Ibanez
   12. Enzo Tagliazucchi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Sanz Perl and colleagues provide important insights regarding the application of computational brain models from neurodegenerative diseases to evaluate brain stimulation protocols in silico. Solid evidence is provided for the disease-specificity of the framework, however, the real-world impact of such stimulation protocols to alleviate psychiatric and neurological symptoms remains to be evaluated.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Molecular and spatial profiling of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus

    This article has 7 authors:

    1. Claire Gao
    2. Chiraag A Gohel
    3. Yan Leng
    4. Jun Ma
    5. David Goldman
    6. Ariel J Levine
    7. Mario A Penzo

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This study uses single cell sequencing to characterize transcriptional profiles of cells in a brain region called the PVT that plays many roles in brain function. The authors combine these data with dataset of neuronal connectivity and conclude there are transcriptomically distinguishable populations of neurons in the PVT with different function. These data deepen our understanding of an important brain region.

    Reviewed by eLife