eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Oscillatory movement of a dynein-microtubule complex crosslinked with DNA origami

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Shimaa A Abdellatef
   2. Hisashi Tadakuma
   3. Kangmin Yan
   4. Takashi Fujiwara
   5. Kodai Fukumoto
   6. Yuichi Kondo
   7. Hiroko Takazaki
   8. Rofia Boudria
   9. Takuo Yasunaga
   10. Hideo Higuchi
   11. Keiko Hirose

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The authors describe the reconstitution of axonemal bending using polymerized microtubules, purified outer-arm dyneins, and synthesized DNA origami to cross-link two microtubules. The work is of interest for the field as it shows that bidirectional sliding and bending of microtubules can be generated by a minimal set of elements.

     (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

2. Analysis of allelic cross-reactivity of monoclonal IgG antibodies by a multiplexed reverse FluoroSpot assay

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Henriette Hoffmann-Veltung
   2. Nsoh Godwin Anabire
   3. Michael Fokuo Ofori
   4. Peter Janhmatz
   5. Niklas Ahlborg
   6. Lars Hviid
   7. Maria del Pilar Quintana

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript describes a fluorospot-based assay as a model for a methodical, step-wise and rigorous approach - that combines multiple reagents in a complex system - to study the cross-reactivity of antibody to polymorphic antigens using the malaria vaccine candidate, VAR2CSA, as a model. The authors apply monoclonal antibodies and the corresponding B cells to validate their multiplexed assay before testing small number of samples from malaria exposed donors in a pilot application of the assay. The data support the conclusions. This information will attract the attention of immunologists and vaccinologists, who are primarily but not exclusively, involved in research on malaria.

     (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 #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Engineered natural killer cells impede the immunometabolic CD73-adenosine axis in solid tumors

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Andrea M Chambers
   2. Kyle B Lupo
   3. Jiao Wang
   4. Jingming Cao
   5. Sagar Utturkar
   6. Nadia Lanman
   7. Victor Bernal-Crespo
   8. Shadia Jalal
   9. Sharon R Pine
   10. Sandra Torregrosa-Allen
   11. Bennett D Elzey
   12. Sandro Matosevic

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The authors have engineered an anti-CD73 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that they express in NK cells to counteract tumors bearing CD73, which contributes to the generation of immunosuppressive adenosine in the tumor microenvironment. This is a promising approach for a new anti-cancer immunotherapy and will be of interest to oncologists and cancer immunologists. The CAR-bearing NK cells show slightly enhanced tumor killing in vitro, but preliminary data show more promising results in mice. This could be due to the CD73 CAR blocking catalytic activity in the tumor microenvironment more effectively than directly promoting cytotoxicity responses.

     (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

4. Coordinated multiplexing of information about separate objects in visual cortex

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Na Young Jun
   2. Douglas A Ruff
   3. Lily E Kramer
   4. Brittany Bowes
   5. Surya T Tokdar
   6. Marlene R Cohen
   7. Jennifer M Groh

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The authors report that neurons in V1 and V4 provide multiplex information of simultaneously presented objects. A combination of multi-single unit recordings, statistical modelling of neuronal responses and neuronal correlations analyses argues in favor of their claims. Pairs of neurons having similar object preferences tended to be positively correlated when both objects were presented, while pairs of neurons having different objects preferences tended to be negatively correlated. These patterns and others suggest that information about the two objects is multiplexed in time. There are, however, some unclear points that deserve discussion and further analysis that could more strongly support the 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 #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Ancestral acetylcholine receptor β-subunit forms homopentamers that prime before opening spontaneously

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Christian JG Tessier
   2. Raymond M Sturgeon
   3. Johnathon R Emlaw
   4. Gregory D McCluskey
   5. F Javier Pérez-Areales
   6. Corrie JB daCosta

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper will be of interest to readers interested ligand-gated ion channels and their evolution. The authors show that ancestral AChR beta subunits reconstructed phylogenetically can form homomeric channels that open spontaneously. The work expands our understanding of agonist-independent AChR gating and highlights intriguing aspects of AChR evolution.

     (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 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

6. A second DNA binding site on RFC facilitates clamp loading at gapped or nicked DNA

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Xingchen Liu
   2. Christl Gaubitz
   3. Joshua Pajak
   4. Brian A Kelch

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Replication Factor C (RFC) is known to play a role in both DNA replication and DNA repair by loading a protein clamp called PCNA onto DNA junctions with a 3'-recessed end. The current paper elegantly demonstrates that RFC has a second DNA binding site that recognizes a single strand-double strand DNA with a 5'-recessed junction. The paper reports a series of interesting structures and confirms binding to both short gapped DNA and nicked DNA by RFC, causing local unwinding DNA at the ssDNA/dsDNA junctions. The paper, which is of interest to colleagues studying DNA replication and repair, should be improved through a few clarifications.

     (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, Reviewer #2 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase moonlights as a ribosome-binding modulator of Gcn2 activity during oxidative stress

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Robert A Crawford
   2. Mark P Ashe
   3. Simon J Hubbard
   4. Graham D Pavitt

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Using mass spectrometry, Crawford et al. identify aspartate aminotransferase 2 (Aat2) as a protein whose polysome-association is increased under oxidative stress in yeast. Aat2 deletion sensitizes yeast to oxidative stress, which is paralleled by an aberrantly elevated integrated stress response, although polysome-association of Aat2 and its effect on oxidative stress response are independent of its aminotransferase activity. This provides evidence that metabolic enzymes may "moonlight" as post-transcriptional regulators. The study will appeal to experts in the fields of biochemistry, genetics, cellular and molecular biology. The presented data mostly support the authors' conclusions, but there are a few technical issues that should be addressed. These include corroborating Aat2:ribosome association and characterizing the effects of non-catalytic Aat2 mutants on the integrated stress response.

     (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. Aminomethanesulfonic acid illuminates the boundary between full and partial agonists of the pentameric glycine receptor

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Josip Ivica
   2. Hongtao Zhu
   3. Remigijus Lape
   4. Eric Gouaux
   5. Lucia G Sivilotti

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Ivica et al. provide both functional and structural characterization of a relatively unstudied glycine receptor agonist that is structurally in between a full and partial agonist. The combination of cryogenic electron microscopy and electrophysiological approaches allows for complementary structural and functional investigations into the criteria that determine ligand efficacy at the glycine receptor. This manuscript will be of interest to both biophysical and pharmacological investigations of ligand-gated ion channels.

     (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

9. Fuzzy supertertiary interactions within PSD-95 enable ligand binding

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. George L Hamilton
   2. Nabanita Saikia
   3. Sujit Basak
   4. Franceine S Welcome
   5. Fang Wu
   6. Jakub Kubiak
   7. Changcheng Zhang
   8. Yan Hao
   9. Claus AM Seidel
   10. Feng Ding
   11. Hugo Sanabria
   12. Mark E Bowen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper is of broad interest to investigators studying the function and regulation of protein scaffolds, dynamic protein structure, and the regulation of the postsynaptic density at excitatory synapses. The authors develop an integrated approach using fluorescence-based biochemical methods, disulfide mapping, and discrete molecular dynamic simulations to study the dynamic supertertiary conformation of the synaptic scaffold protein PSD95.

     (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, Reviewer #2 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Neuroscout, a unified platform for generalizable and reproducible fMRI research

    This article has 10 authors:

    1. Alejandro de la Vega
    2. Roberta Rocca
    3. Ross W Blair
    4. Christopher J Markiewicz
    5. Jeff Mentch
    6. James D Kent
    7. Peer Herholz
    8. Satrajit S Ghosh
    9. Russell A Poldrack
    10. Tal Yarkoni

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      This paper introduces Neuroscout, a new web-based platform for the analysis of fMRI data with a particular focus on naturalistic stimuli. It describes a new tool that will potentially be of great use to the neuroimaging community, and whose development is already quite mature and has a number of datasets ready to use online. Neuroscout as a tool will be of particular interest to neuroimagers and cognitive neuroscientists, but the conclusions drawn using the tool should be of interest to neuroscientists more broadly.

      (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, Reviewer #2 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

    Reviewed by eLife