eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Design of combination therapeutics from protein response to drugs in ovarian cancer cells

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Alexandra Franz
   2. Ciyue Shen
   3. Fabian Coscia
   4. Kenneth Munroe
   5. Lea Charaoui
   6. Anil Korkut
   7. Matthias Mann
   8. Augustin Luna
   9. Chris Sander

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this valuable study, the authors provide a simple yet elegant approach to identifying therapeutic targets that synergize to prevent therapeutic resistance in ovarian cancer using cell lines, data-independent acquisition proteomics, and bioinformatic analysis. The authors convincingly identify several combinations of pharmaceuticals that were able to overcome or prevent therapeutic resistance in culture models of ovarian cancer, a disease with an unmet diagnostic and therapeutic need. However, the extent to which these findings may extend to more complex models of ovarian cancer remains unclear.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. WRN and WRNIP1 ATPases impose high fidelity on translesion synthesis by Y-family DNA polymerases

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Jung Hoon Yoon
   2. Karthi Sellamuthu
   3. Louise Prakash
   4. Satya Prakash

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript reports an important finding for understanding the molecular mechanisms of mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, and senescence. It follows a previous report showing that the Werner syndrome protein WRN and its interacting protein WRNIP1 are indispensable for translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) by Y-family DNA polymerases (Pols). The manuscript provides convincing evidence that WRN and WRNIP1 ATPases, in addition to the previously reported role of the WRN 3'>5' exonuclease activity, are essential for promoting the fidelity of replication through DNA lesions by Y-family Pols in human cells.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Serum, Cell-Free, HPV-Human DNA Junction Detection and HPV Typing for Predicting and Monitoring Cervical Cancer Recurrence

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Anne Van Arsdale
   2. Olga Mescheryakova
   3. Sonia Gallego
   4. Elaine C Maggi
   5. Bryan Harmon
   6. Dennis YS Kuo
   7. Koenraad Van Doorslaer
   8. Mark H Einstein
   9. Brian J Haas
   10. Cristina Montagna
   11. Jack Lenz

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This is a valuable study that suggests that HPV-human DNA junctions can be identified from cfDNA in women with cervical cancer and that detection of these junctions is indicative of recurrence. The evidence supporting the conclusions is incomplete, in part because the numbers of reads identifying breakpoints in tumor samples or in circulating cell-free serum samples are not provided. More quantitative analysis will be required to confirm that the breakpoints represented in cell-free DNA can be used as a surrogate to monitor the recurrence of cervical cancer cells, and additional patient studies would also be needed to strengthen the study. This work will be of interest to those who study and treat cervical cancer as well as other HPV-related malignancies.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. SMC5/6-mediated plasmid silencing is directed by SIMC1–SLF2 and antagonized by the SV40 large T antigen

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Martina Oravcová
   2. Minghua Nie
   3. Takanori Otomo
   4. Michael N Boddy

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This Research Advance manuscript further elucidates the roles of SMC5/6 loader proteins and associated factors in the silencing of extrachromosomal circular DNA by the SMC5/6 complex. While the findings are largely in line with expectations, they are valuable, representing a meaningful advance beyond the recent study from the same laboratories (PMC9708086), validating the previous model that distinct SMC5/6 subcomplexes, SIMC1-SLF2 and SLF1/2, separately control its transcriptional repression and DNA repair activities on extrachromosomal DNA. Solid evidence is presented for a role for SIMC1/SLF2 in localization of the SMC5/6 complex to plasmid DNA, and the distinct requirements as compared to recruitment of SMC5/6 to chromosomal DNA lesions.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. HIV-specific CD8+ T-cell proliferative response 24 weeks after early antiretroviral therapy initiation is associated with the subsequent reduction in the viral reservoir

   This article has 20 authors:

   1. Pien Margien van Paassen
   2. Alexander O Pasternak
   3. Dita C Bolluyt
   4. Karel A van Dort
   5. Ad C van Nuenen
   6. Irma Maurer
   7. Brigitte Boeser-Nunnink
   8. Ninée VEJ Buchholtz
   9. Tokameh Mahmoudi
   10. Cynthia Lungu
   11. Reinout van Crevel
   12. Casper Rokx
   13. Jori Symons
   14. Monique Nijhuis
   15. Annelou LIP van der Veen
   16. Liffert Vogt
   17. Michelle J Klouwens
   18. Jan M Prins
   19. Neeltje A Kootstra
   20. Godelieve J de Bree

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The findings of this study are valuable as it demonstrates that when treatment is initiated during acute infection, HIV specific CD8 T cell responses are maintained long term and continued proliferative capacity of these cells may play a role in reducing HIV DNA levels. The evidence supporting the conclusions are solid with rigorous and advanced methodology used with the major limitations being that the findings are association level and do not meet strict criteria for causality. The work is of interest to the HIV cure field and suggests that enhancing early HIV specific CD8 T cell responses should be considered in the design of interventional cure strategies.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. FGF and MafB regulated cadherin expression drives lamina formation in the auditory hindbrain

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Rosanna CG Smith
   2. Maryam Clark
   3. Mireya Vazquez-Prada
   4. Marc Astick
   5. Kristina C Tubby
   6. Stephen R Price

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The authors conducted a valuable study that investigates a molecular pathway mediating the transformation of a cell aggregate into a sheet known as the nucleus laminaris, a crucial site for auditory processing. While the study offers a comprehensive view of the sequence of developmental events and suggests possible roles for FGF signaling, the transcription factor Mafb, and the cell surface adhesive molecule Cadherin-23 in this process, the current data were considered incomplete.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Deployment of endocytic machinery to periactive zones of nerve terminals is independent of active zone assembly and evoked release

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Javier Emperador-Melero
   2. Steven J Del Signore
   3. Kevin M De León González
   4. Pascal S Kaeser
   5. Avital A Rodal

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This is a valuable and rigorous study that addresses the question of what determines the spatial organization of endocytic zones at synapses. The authors use compelling approaches, in both Drosophila and rodent model systems, to define the role of activity and active zone structure on the organization of the peri-active zone. While the findings are primarily negative, they are carefully executed and contribute to the field by refining existing models of presynaptic organization.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Weak evidence for heritable changes in response to selection by aphids in Arabidopsis accessions

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Marc W Schmid
   2. Klara Kropivšek
   3. Samuel E Wuest
   4. Bernhard Schmid
   5. Ueli Grossniklaus

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This paper examines selection on induced epigenetic variation ("Lamarckian evolution") in response to herbivory in Arabidopsis thaliana. The authors find weak evidence for such adaptation, which contrasts with a recently published study that reported extensive heritable variation induced by the environment. The authors convincingly demonstrate that the findings of the previous study were confounded by mix-ups of genetically distinct material, so that standing genetic variation was mistaken for acquired (epigenetic) variation. Given the controversy surrounding the influence of heritable epigenetic variation on phenotypic variation and adaptation, this study is an important, clarifying contribution; it serves as a timely reminder that sequence-based verification of genetic material should be prioritized when either genetic identity or divergence is of importance to the conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Inhibitory circuits control leg movements during Drosophila grooming

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Durafshan Sakeena Syed
   2. Primoz Ravbar
   3. Julie H Simpson

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Combining connectomics, optogenetics, behavioral analysis and modeling, this study delivers important findings on the role of inhibitory neurons in the generation of leg grooming movements in Drosophila. The results include convincing evidence that the identified neuronal populations are key in the generation of rhythmic leg movements, structured in distinct polysynaptic pathways articulating inhibition and disinhibition of antagonistic sets of motor neurons, as mapped from an electron microscopy volume of the ventral nerve cord, which orchestrate an alternation of flexion and extension. By analyzing limb kinematics upon experimentally silencing specific populations of premotor inhibitory neurons, together with computational modelling, the potential role of these neurons in rhythmic leg movement is shown. This work will be of interest to neuroscientists working in motor control and limbed locomotion.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Dynamic fMRI networks of emotion

    This article has 4 authors:

    1. Niels Janssen
    2. Uriel KA Elvira
    3. Joost Janssen
    4. Theo GM van Erp

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This manuscript provides important information on the neurodynamics of emotional processing while participants were watching movie clips. This work provides convincing results in deciphering the temporal-spatial dynamics of emotional processing. This work will be of interest to affective neuroscientists and fMRI researchers in general.

    Reviewed by eLife