eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Suppressed prefrontal neuronal firing variability and impaired social representation in IRSp53-mutant mice

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Woohyun Kim
   2. Jae Jin Shin
   3. Yu Jin Jeong
   4. Kyungdeok Kim
   5. Jung Won Bae
   6. Young Woo Noh
   7. Seungjoon Lee
   8. Woochul Choi
   9. Se-Bum Paik
   10. Min Whan Jung
   11. Eunee Lee
   12. Eunjoon Kim

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper is of interest for neuroscientists studying neocortical neural activity related to social behavior, with a connection to mouse models of neuropsychiatric disorders. The work provides new data on how loss-of-function of postsynaptic scaffolding and adaptor protein IRSp53 (encoded by the BAIAP2 gene) impacts prefrontal cortex activity and social interaction in mice. Overall, the experiments are properly controlled, although further analysis and interpretations are needed.

     (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

2. CompoundRay, an open-source tool for high-speed and high-fidelity rendering of compound eyes

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Blayze Millward
   2. Steve Maddock
   3. Michael Mangan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This work reports on a mathematical modeling system and associated software implementation for compound eye vision. A critical advance reported here is the ability to model each ommatidium with independent properties and on a software implementation that runs in real time, with tantalizing applications in both modeling biological systems such as insect compound eyes, and the exploration of the possible applications of compound eye vision in robotics.

     (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. Human spinal cord in vitro differentiation pace is initially maintained in heterologous embryonic environments

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Alwyn Dady
   2. Lindsay Davidson
   3. Pamela A Halley
   4. Kate G Storey

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript is of potential interest to a large audience in the fields of stem cells, developmental biology and neural regeneration. The authors assess the roles of extrinsic versus intrinsic signalling on differentiation of human neural cells by comparing their differentiation rates across different environments (in vitro, in the human embryo and grafted into a chicken embryo). While the experimental design tests the role of environment on differentiation, some aspects of data analysis need to be clarified and extended to support the conclusions.

     (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

4. Physiological TLR4 regulation in human fetal membranes as an explicative mechanism of a pathological preterm case

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Corinne Belville
   2. Flora Ponelle-Chachuat
   3. Marion Rouzaire
   4. Christelle Gross
   5. Bruno Pereira
   6. Denis Gallot
   7. Vincent Sapin
   8. Loïc Blanchon

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript provides insight into the zone-specific regulation of inflammatory gene expression in the fetal membranes prior to labor at term. Specifically, the authors demonstrate distinct epigenetic and mi-RNA control of TLR4 signaling in the amnion and chorion, highlighting the role of this pattern recognition receptor in physiological labor. Overall, the experimental design and data analysis are suitable, though the study would benefit from the inclusion of the analysis of fetal membrane tissues from pregnancy complications and/or in vivo studies.

     (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

5. TIGAR deficiency enhances skeletal muscle thermogenesis by increasing neuromuscular junction cholinergic signaling

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Yan Tang
   2. Haihong Zong
   3. Hyokjoon Kwon
   4. Yunping Qiu
   5. Jacob B Pessin
   6. Licheng Wu
   7. Katherine A Buddo
   8. Ilya Boykov
   9. Cameron A Schmidt
   10. Chien-Te Lin
   11. P Darrell Neufer
   12. Gary J Schwartz
   13. Irwin J Kurland
   14. Jeffrey E Pessin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     In this study, Tang and colleagues report that the deletion of the fructose-2,6-phosphatase TIGAR leads resistance to cold-induce hypothermia. Using different complementary approaches, they found that this phenotype originates from alteration in cholinergic neurons. In particular, they found that deleting TIGAR in ChAT-expressing neurons recapitulates the phenotype of the global knock-out. Overall, this is a well-performed study that provides evidence for a role of TIGAR in regulating the neuromuscular junction.

     (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. Recapitulating human cardio-pulmonary co-development using simultaneous multilineage differentiation of pluripotent stem cells

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Wai Hoe Ng
   2. Elizabeth K Johnston
   3. Jun Jie Tan
   4. Jacqueline M Bliley
   5. Adam W Feinberg
   6. Donna B Stolz
   7. Ming Sun
   8. Piyumi Wijesekara
   9. Finn Hawkins
   10. Darrell N Kotton
   11. Xi Ren

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     In this manuscript, the authors present at interesting strategy for directing simultaneous induction of both mesoderm-derived cardiac and endoderm-derived lung epithelial lineages from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). All reviewers found the work to be of interest, but concerns were raised regarding the efficiency of the differentiation process (including % of differentiated cells in the final cultures) . In addition, it is noted that experiments presented are based on analysis of a single hiPSC cell line, and only part of the differentiation was repeated in another cell line, and thus the broader applicability of the presented protocol remains to be established. However, the interesting data support the conclusions presented. It is likely that the presented methods will be very useful for researchers focusing on heart and lung development, and may inspire others to take similar approaches for studying development of other organs.

     (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

7. Nephronectin-integrin α8 signaling is required for proper migration of periocular neural crest cells during chick corneal development

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Justin Ma
   2. Lian Bi
   3. James Spurlin
   4. Peter Lwigale

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript examines the role of Nephronectin-Integrin a8 signaling in early stages in the avian corneal development. This is an understudied system with numerous gaps in our comprehension how neural crest derived cells migrate into the "open" space between the corneal epithelium and lens and form the corneal endothelium and stroma. Novel insights are generated on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of this critical process of anterior segment morphogenesis.

     (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

8. Body mass index and adipose distribution have opposing genetic impacts on human blood traits

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Christopher S Thom
   2. Madison B Wilken
   3. Stella T Chou
   4. Benjamin F Voight

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The study investigates obesity and adipose distribution on hematopoiesis. It shows that genetically determined adiposity plays a previously underappreciated role in determining blood cell formation and function. The authors performed all the relevant and available MR analyses in the "toolbox". The results support the conclusions. The study will help understand the pathogenesis for clonal hematopoiesis.

     (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. Towards a molecular mechanism underlying mitochondrial protein import through the TOM and TIM23 complexes

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Holly C Ford
   2. William J Allen
   3. Gonçalo C Pereira
   4. Xia Liu
   5. Mark Simon Dillingham
   6. Ian Collinson

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study employs a novel bioluminescence-based technique to analyze the import of precursor proteins into the mitochondrial matrix in real time. This is an innovative technical advance that can provide mechanistic detail on the kinetic steps of mitochondrial protein import. It has potential applications in other membrane protein transport systems and it could be applicable to studies in applied science such as screening for drugs targeting the mitochondrial import apparatus.

     (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

10. Comprehensive characterization of the antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein finds additional vaccine-induced epitopes beyond those for mild infection

    This article has 8 authors:

    1. Meghan E Garrett
    2. Jared G Galloway
    3. Caitlin Wolf
    4. Jennifer K Logue
    5. Nicholas Franko
    6. Helen Y Chu
    7. Frederick A Matsen
    8. Julie M Overbaugh

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      The authors used phage display deep mutational scanning of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein to profile antibody epitopes outside of the RBD that were recognized in two cohorts of subjects, which together included mRNA vaccinated, SARS-CoV-2 infected with mild or severe COVID-19 and vaccinated with prior infection. Key findings of the study are that severe COVID-19 and vaccinated individuals had higher binding to Spike protein regions NTD, CTD, and SH-H compared to individuals with mild COVID-19, while mild COVID-19 infections had higher binding to FP than vaccinated or severe COVID-19 individuals. They also reported that vaccinated individuals with or without prior infection were not different and that covariates did not appear to impact the antibody recognition profiles. The authors identified potential escape pathways in these epitope regions, some of which differed between vaccination and infection or drifted over time. The authors acknowledge that this approach is limited to linear epitopes and does not include RBD epitopes. However, the study provides novel insight into the major epitope regions targeted by polyclonal antibodies elicited by vaccination vs. infection, as well as potential pathways for the virus to escape recognition.

      (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, ScreenIT