eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Heritability and cross-species comparisons of human cortical functional organization asymmetry

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Bin Wan
   2. Şeyma Bayrak
   3. Ting Xu
   4. H Lina Schaare
   5. Richard AI Bethlehem
   6. Boris C Bernhardt
   7. Sofie L Valk

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This is an interesting paper that tries to quantify brain asymmetry in connectivity, looks at the heritability of this asymmetry, and compares it between humans and monkeys. The approach taken here is to first project the connectivity information into a low dimensional sub-space and then to quantify brain asymmetry in this low dimensional representation. The benefit of this approach is that it simplifies the problem to looking at scalar indices rather than matrices, and that it allows comparisons between subjects and species in connectivity space. This work should be of interest to the field of brain asymmetry and evolution. However, there are fundamental issues with the method, as outlined in the review. The paper would also benefit from a stronger focus on the biological interpretation. At present, the main contribution of this work is providing interesting data.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Recurrent neural networks enable design of multifunctional synthetic human gut microbiome dynamics

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Mayank Baranwal
   2. Ryan L Clark
   3. Jaron Thompson
   4. Zeyu Sun
   5. Alfred O Hero
   6. Ophelia S Venturelli

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The ultimate goal of this work is to apply machine learning to learn from experimental data on temporal dynamics and functions of microbial communities to predict their future behavior and design new communities with desired functions. Using a significant amount of experimental data, the authors suggest that their method outperforms a commonly used approach. Overall, the work is potentially of broad interest to those working on microbiome prediction and design.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Rescue of behavioral and electrophysiological phenotypes in a Pitt-Hopkins syndrome mouse model by genetic restoration of Tcf4 expression

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Hyojin Kim
   2. Eric B Gao
   3. Adam Draper
   4. Noah C Berens
   5. Hanna Vihma
   6. Xinyuan Zhang
   7. Alexandra Higashi-Howard
   8. Kimberly D Ritola
   9. Jeremy M Simon
   10. Andrew J Kennedy
   11. Benjamin D Philpot

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript by Kim et al. validates the previously generated Tcf4 LGSL mouse model (developed by the authors' group; Kim et al. 2020) for Pitt-Hopkins syndrome (PHS) by normalizing the Tcf4 expression level. They found that reinstating Tcf4 expression improves a subset of behavioral abnormalities, including anxiety-like behavior, activity level, innate behaviors and memory. Moreover, neonatal ICV injection of Cre mediating restoration of gene expression also improved the behavioral abnormalities and altered LFP spectra, and partially recovered the expression level of downstream target genes for Tcf4. This provides a proof-of-concept for therapeutic interventions against PHS. The writing and data quality are excellent, and clear limitations of current study are well described. However, there are some areas for further improvement.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

4. The organic cation transporter 2 regulates dopamine D1 receptor signaling at the Golgi apparatus

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Natasha M Puri
   2. Giovanna R Romano
   3. Ting-Yu Lin
   4. Quynh N Mai
   5. Roshanak Irannejad

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study uses a tour de force of biosensor constructs providing evidence that dopamine transport by OCT2 across the plasma membrane and also (presumably) into the Golgi activates GPCR signaling at the Golgi leading to cAMP production and PKA activation. Thus, intracellularly compartmentalized signaling underlies aspects of Dopamine D1 receptor signaling. The work will be of interest to scientists working on the cell biology of dopamine signaling. While the data support the model overall, there are concerns that need to be addressed including specificity of the reagents used and the actual intracellular localization of D1DR and OCT2.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Increased signal-to-noise ratios within experimental field trials by regressing spatially distributed soil properties as principal components

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Jeffrey C Berry
   2. Mingsheng Qi
   3. Balasaheb V Sonawane
   4. Amy Sheflin
   5. Asaph Cousins
   6. Jessica Prenni
   7. Daniel P Schachtman
   8. Peng Liu
   9. Rebecca S Bart

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The manuscript will be of interest to researchers focusing on understanding phenotypes using data collected from field studies. It provides a rigorous strategy for how to appropriately adjust confounding effects and to perform statistical analysis of noisy data from field plots.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Non-rapid eye movement sleep and wake neurophysiology in schizophrenia

   This article has 27 authors:

   1. Nataliia Kozhemiako
   2. Jun Wang
   3. Chenguang Jiang
   4. Lei A Wang
   5. Guanchen Gai
   6. Kai Zou
   7. Zhe Wang
   8. Xiaoman Yu
   9. Lin Zhou
   10. Shen Li
   11. Zhenglin Guo
   12. Robert Law
   13. James Coleman
   14. Dimitrios Mylonas
   15. Lu Shen
   16. Guoqiang Wang
   17. Shuping Tan
   18. Shengying Qin
   19. Hailiang Huang
   20. Michael Murphy
   21. Robert Stickgold
   22. Dara Manoach
   23. Zhenhe Zhou
   24. Wei Zhu
   25. Mei-Hua Hal
   26. Shaun M Purcell
   27. Jen Q Pan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study, one of the largest of its kind, replicate previous findings regarding impairment of sleep rhythms in patients with schizophrenia relative to healthy controls. Specifically, slow but not fast sleep spindles are correlated with the severity of the symptoms.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

7. VE-cadherin enables trophoblast endovascular invasion and spiral artery remodeling during placental development

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Derek C Sung
   2. Xiaowen Chen
   3. Mei Chen
   4. Jisheng Yang
   5. Susan Schultz
   6. Apoorva Babu
   7. Yitian Xu
   8. Siqi Gao
   9. TC Stevenson Keller
   10. Patricia Mericko-Ishizuka
   11. Michelle Lee
   12. Ying Yang
   13. Joshua P Scallan
   14. Mark L Kahn

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     At the very early period of pregnancy, fetal trophoblasts invade the mammalian decidua in the placenta and remodel and connect with maternal spiral arteries, which is known as an endovascular invasion. Understanding molecular and cellular pathways for endovascular invasion and pathogenesis of preeclampsia are important topics for current vascular biology and Ob/Gyn biology, making this study timely and important. This study shows for the first time a causal link for the need for VE-cadherin on trophoblasts for the invasion of these cells into the decidua and for their role in vascular remodeling. The conclusions of this paper are mostly well supported by data, but it would be sound if the authors provide the underlying molecular mechanism to support the authors' claims.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Hedgehog regulation of epithelial cell state and morphogenesis in the larynx

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Janani Ramachandran
   2. Weiqiang Zhou
   3. Anna E Bardenhagen
   4. Talia Nasr
   5. Ellen R Yates
   6. Aaron M Zorn
   7. Hongkai Ji
   8. Steven A Vokes

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The authors present cellular and genetic data, combine mutant analysis and RNA-sequencing, that together support a functional role for Shh in repressing the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in the developing larynx during larynx-esophageal separation. The authors report that in the absence of Shh, cells undergo EMT and are replaced with a novel epithelial cell population of unknown origin. Given the relative lack of knowledge about how this important structure develops, these results could make a potentially significant contribution to field, but the evidence for EMT needs further support.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

9. In silico transcriptomics identifies FDA-approved drugs and biological pathways for protection against cisplatin-induced hearing loss

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Pezhman Salehi
   2. Marisa Zallocchi
   3. Sarath Vijayakumar
   4. Madeleine Urbanek
   5. Kimberlee P. Giffen
   6. Yuju Li
   7. Santanu Hati
   8. Jian Zuo

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     In this report, the authors have combined analysis of the Connectivity Map with small molecule screens in zebrafish to identify compounds that may spare ototoxicity induced from cisplatin. This is an important limitation of this effective and widely used chemotherapeutic agent and has the potential to create approaches to limit the neurotoxicity induced by cisplatin.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

10. The oncoprotein BCL6 enables solid tumor cells to evade genotoxic stress

    This article has 11 authors:

    1. Yanan Liu
    2. Juanjuan Feng
    3. Kun Yuan
    4. Zhengzhen Wu
    5. Longmiao Hu
    6. Yue Lu
    7. Kun Li
    8. Jiawei Guo
    9. Jing Chen
    10. Chengbin Ma
    11. Xiufeng Pang

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      This research explored the role that BCL6 exerts on chemotherapy resistance in solid tumors other than previously reported hematological malignancies. The study also implicates the IFN-BCL6-PTEN axis as an antagonism target for overcoming resistance. This paper will be interesting to scientists who are specialists in cancer chemoresistance and oncological pharmacology.

      (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

    Reviewed by eLife