eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Ciliary chemosensitivity is enhanced by cilium geometry and motility

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. David Hickey
   2. Andrej Vilfan
   3. Ramin Golestanian

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The authors consider how the geometry and motility of cilia affect their performance in detecting chemicals in the surrounding fluid. Based on a theoretical model, the authors suggest that the distinctive elongated shape of a cilium may be coupled to its sensory function. The conjectures presented in this work are likely to be of interest to a wide readership, but whether this actually applies to real biological systems requires more careful validation.

     (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. Understanding the evolution of multiple drug resistance in structured populations

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. David V McLeod
   2. Sylvain Gandon

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper addresses the important question of multidrug resistance evolution, which is of both theoretical and applied interest. The authors efforts to carefully distinguish population and metapopulation linkage disequilibrium and to develop a framework to rigorously analyze the relationship between the two has promise, although we have noted concerns about the modeling framework used and results interpretation. If these concerns can be sufficiently addressed, then this paper has the potential to represent a clear advance in our understanding of microbial population dynamics.

     (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 names with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Toxoplasma gondii injected neurons localize to the cortex and striatum and have altered firing

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Oscar A. Mendez
   2. Emiliano Flores Machado
   3. Jing Lu
   4. Anita A. Koshy

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study uses a new approach to map all neurons in the brain that have been infected with Toxoplasma gondii or injected with parasite proteins. The authors show that Toxoplasma injected neurons are heterogeneously distributed in murine brain tissues, that excitatory neurons are the primary targets, and that injection of parasite proteins leads to neuronal death. This work provides new insights into Toxoplasma-neuron interactions that underlie the pathology and potential changes in behaviour of infected individuals. The manuscript will be of interest to those working in neuroscience and/or parasitic infections.

     (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. Stress diminishes outcome but enhances response representations during instrumental learning

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Jacqueline Katharina Meier
   2. Bernhard P Staresina
   3. Lars Schwabe

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The authors used EEG-based multivariate pattern analysis and acute stress induction to assess the neural representations mediating a previously demonstrated influence of stress on the balance between goal-directed and habitual responding. While the results should be of interest to a wide range of neuroscientists, the temporal alignment of clinical, behavioral, and neural measures somewhat obscures the underlying causal mechanisms.

     (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

5. SIRT1 regulates sphingolipid metabolism and neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells through c-Myc-SMPDL3B

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Wei Fan
   2. Shuang Tang
   3. Xiaojuan Fan
   4. Yi Fang
   5. Xiaojiang Xu
   6. Leping Li
   7. Jian Xu
   8. Jian-Liang Li
   9. Zefeng Wang
   10. Xiaoling Li

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper will be of broad interest to cell biologists and advances the current understanding of the connection between lipid metabolism and stem cell function. The data generated from multiple complementary experimental approaches are of high quality and convincingly support the claims made.

     (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

6. LIN37-DREAM prevents DNA end resection and homologous recombination at DNA double-strand breaks in quiescent cells

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Bo-Ruei Chen
   2. Yinan Wang
   3. Anthony Tubbs
   4. Dali Zong
   5. Faith C Fowler
   6. Nicholas Zolnerowich
   7. Wei Wu
   8. Amelia Bennett
   9. Chun-Chin Chen
   10. Wendy Feng
   11. Andre Nussenzweig
   12. Jessica K Tyler
   13. Barry P Sleckman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation summary:

     This manuscript will be of interest for scientists interested in cell cycle, DNA repair, transcription and genome stability opening a new chapter in studies of cell cycle dependent regulation of DSB repair. Much of the prior work has focused on cell cycle-driven post-translational regulatory modification of DSB end resection, whereas the current work finds transcriptional programs are equally, if not more, important in controlling resection in G0. This could open possibilities for gene therapy in post-mitotic tissues. The data are of high quality and the conclusions drawn are supported by the experimental evidence.

     (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. Oxaliplatin resistance in colorectal cancer enhances TRAIL sensitivity via death receptor 4 upregulation and lipid raft localization

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Joshua D Greenlee
   2. Maria Lopez-Cavestany
   3. Nerymar Ortiz-Otero
   4. Kevin Liu
   5. Tejas Subramanian
   6. Burt Cagir
   7. Michael R King

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The study investigates the molecular characteristics of chemotherapy-resistant colorectal cancer cells and proposes a therapeutic alternative for chemo-resistant cancer. The authors provide evidence in vitro that chemo-resistant cells are pro-apoptotic in the presence of the death receptor ligand TRAIL due to the enhanced localization of the death receptor DR4 in the lipid rafts of their plasma membrane. Based on this finding, the authors treat blood samples from 5 colorectal cancer patients with TRAIL-conjugated liposomes and observed reduction in the number of circulating cancer cells in the blood draws.

     (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

8. Fully autonomous mouse behavioral and optogenetic experiments in home-cage

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Yaoyao Hao
   2. Alyse Marian Thomas
   3. Nuo Li

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript describes extensively a fully automated procedure to train mice to perform voluntary head-fixation, and a whisker-based tactile discrimantion task. In addition the authors demonstrate that with this procedure, light illumination of red-shifted opsins expressed in inhibitory neurons can be used to selectively silence targeted brain regions during the task in a non-invasive manner. Together, although volontary head-fixation training and automated behavior has been readily implemented in different contexts, this study elegantly delineates important steps to boost the acceptancy and duration of head-fixations and thereby train more complex tasks. The demonstration of transcranial optogenetics in this context also opens the possibility to perform precise brain inactivations during well-controlled sensory stimulations, in self-initiated behavior.

     (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 names with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Increased theta/alpha synchrony in the habenula-prefrontal network with negative emotional stimuli in human patients

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Yongzhi Huang
   2. Bomin Sun
   3. Jean Debarros
   4. Chao Zhang
   5. Shikun Zhan
   6. Dianyou Li
   7. Chencheng Zhang
   8. Tao Wang
   9. Peng Huang
   10. Yijie Lai
   11. Peter Brown
   12. Chunyan Cao
   13. Huiling Tan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Since DBS of the habenula is a new treatment, these are the first data of its kind and potentially of high interest to the field. Although the study mostly confirms findings from animal studies rather than bringing up completely new aspects of emotion processing, it certainly closes a knowledge gap. This paper is of interest to neuroscientists studying emotions and clinicians treating psychiatric disorders. Specifically the paper shows that the habenula is involved in processing of negative emotions and that it is synchronized to the prefrontal cortex in the theta band. These are important insights into the electrophysiology of emotion processing in the human brain.

     (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 names with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Metal microdrive and head cap system for silicon probe recovery in freely moving rodent

    This article has 4 authors:

    1. Mihály Vöröslakos
    2. Peter C Petersen
    3. Balázs Vöröslakos
    4. György Buzsáki

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      The manuscript describes an improved methodology for performing electrophysiological experiments (involving recording of the activity of tens or hundreds of neurons in the brain simultaneously) in freely behaving mice and rats using silicon probes. By providing a versatile microdrive and head cap design for rodents, this paper may contribute to ease silicon probe chronic recording and recovery, thus reducing experimental costs and making the technique more accessible. The paper is expected to appeal to a broad range of systems neuroscientists who seek to understand how the brain commands movement and behavior.

      (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 names with the authors.)

    Reviewed by eLife