eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Database for drug metabolism and comparisons, NICEdrug.ch, aids discovery and design

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Homa MohammadiPeyhani
   2. Anush Chiappino-Pepe
   3. Kiandokht Haddadi
   4. Jasmin Hafner
   5. Noushin Hadadi
   6. Vassily Hatzimanikatis

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     In this study, the authors proposed a new web service/tool and its database, NICEdrug.ch, to be used in the fields of drug discovery and repurposing with the exploration of the metabolic fate of small molecules. The study is timely and will potentially have a high impact as metabolic evaluation of drugs/compounds is a critical topic that is still understudied.

     (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. Phases of cortical actomyosin dynamics coupled to the neuroblast polarity cycle

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Chet Huan Oon
   2. Kenneth E Prehoda

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Oon and Prehoda report pulsatile contraction of apical membrane in the process of Par protein polarization in Drosophila neuroblasts. This explains how/why actin filament was required to localize/polarize Par complex. This very much resembles the observation in C. elegans embryos, and nicely unifies observations across systems.

     (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

3. Human airway cells prevent SARS-CoV-2 multibasic cleavage site cell culture adaptation

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Mart M Lamers
   2. Anna Z Mykytyn
   3. Tim I Breugem
   4. Yiquan Wang
   5. Douglas C Wu
   6. Samra Riesebosch
   7. Petra B van den Doel
   8. Debby Schipper
   9. Theo Bestebroer
   10. Nicholas C Wu
   11. Bart L Haagmans

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript follows up on work documenting the relevance of the multi-basic cleavage site (MBCS) in the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 for determining cell tropism and mode of cell entry. The paper describes a number of important findings: 1) That SARS-CoV-2 grown in Vero cells rapidly acquires MBCS mutations, where as virus grown in airway epithelial cells or Vero-TMPRSSR2 cells do not; 2) that deep sequencing is necessary to see mutations emerging that are not apparent in consensus sequence reads; 3) that factors such as fetal calf serum can influence the selection of mutant phenotypes, and 4) that cultures derived from differentiated stem cells can provide reproducible systems for virus culture. Together, the work sets out clear guidelines for the propagation of SARS-CoV-2 to avoid adaptations to laboratory cell-lines/conditions and maintain the authenticity of clinical isolates. The work has relevance to other viruses and the use of permissive transformed cell lines.

     (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

4. Cdc4 phospho-degrons allow differential regulation of Ame1CENP-U protein stability across the cell cycle

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Miriam Böhm
   2. Kerstin Killinger
   3. Alexander Dudziak
   4. Pradeep Pant
   5. Karolin Jänen
   6. Simone Hohoff
   7. Karl Mechtler
   8. Mihkel Örd
   9. Mart Loog
   10. Elsa Sanchez-Garcia
   11. Stefan Westermann

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper will be of interest to those in the fields of chromosome biology, mitotic regulation, and proteostasis. The authors put forward an interesting model of phosphodegron regulation of kinetochore assembly based on convincing genetic and biochemical data. The novel model will require some additional evidence before it can be considered well-supported, but the paper represents an advance in our knowledge of kinetochore regulation with experiments that are rigorous, well-designed and carefully conducted.

     (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. AAV-Txnip prolongs cone survival and vision in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Yunlu Xue
   2. Sean K Wang
   3. Parimal Rana
   4. Emma R West
   5. Christin M Hong
   6. Helian Feng
   7. David M Wu
   8. Constance L Cepko

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This authors used AAV in mouse retinas to express several candidate genes that they thought might have favorable effects on cone metabolism and therefore make cones more robust to stress caused by genetic deficiencies. Txnip is the most effective at prolonging cones survival and a combo of HK and PFK is the most effective at shortening cone survival. The investigators evaluated effects of specific mutations in Txnip with known biochemical effects. Their general conclusion is that Txnip may be enhancing mitochondrial function and ATP production and it may allow cones to use alternative fuels more effectively. This is an interesting and informative set of findings and it is presented and discussed in the context of what currently is known about retina metabolism and its influences on photoreceptor survival.

     (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.)

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Sensitivity of ID NOW and RT–PCR for detection of SARS-CoV-2 in an ambulatory population

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Yuan-Po Tu
   2. Jameel Iqbal
   3. Timothy O'Leary

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The authors evaluate the performance of the Abbott ID NOW SARS-CoV-2 test in a group of non-hospitalized individuals being tested for COVID-19 and compared that performance to an RT-PCR test. The authors also provide an interesting review and meta-analysis of ID NOW performance across the literature. The cohort assessed in this study, however, was small and localized, which currently undermines its comparison with the known performance of the test in broader applications.

     (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, ScreenIT

7. Modeling spinal locomotor circuits for movements in developing zebrafish

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Yann Roussel
   2. Stephanie F Gaudreau
   3. Emily R Kacer
   4. Mohini Sengupta
   5. Tuan V Bui

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     In this manuscript, Roussel et al., build models of spinal networks capable of generating coiling and swimming behaviors of embryonic and larval zebrafish. The models use details obtained from earlier experimental studies and insert novel network elements, thus providing testable ideas for rhythm generation. The study will be of high value to those interested in motor pattern generation in general and zebrafish spinal cord function in specific.

     (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. Dual targeting of salt inducible kinases and CSF1R uncouples bone formation and bone resorption

   This article has 26 authors:

   1. Cheng-Chia Tang
   2. Christian D Castro Andrade
   3. Maureen J O'Meara
   4. Sung-Hee Yoon
   5. Tadatoshi Sato
   6. Daniel J Brooks
   7. Mary L Bouxsein
   8. Janaina da Silva Martins
   9. Jinhua Wang
   10. Nathanael S Gray
   11. Barbara Misof
   12. Paul Roschger
   13. Stephane Blouin
   14. Klaus Klaushofer
   15. Annegreet Velduis-Vlug
   16. Yosta Vegting
   17. Clifford J Rosen
   18. Daniel O'Connell
   19. Thomas B Sundberg
   20. Ramnik J Xavier
   21. Peter Ung
   22. Avner Schlessinger
   23. Henry M Kronenberg
   24. Rebecca Berdeaux
   25. Marc Foretz
   26. Marc N Wein

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This is a very interesting, novel and informative study. The effects of the inhibitor on CSF1R inhibition are convincing and provide a compelling explanation for the net effects of the compound on the skeleton. The study opens the way for another possible oral therapeutic for osteoporosis.

     (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

9. GSK3 inhibition rescues growth and telomere dysfunction in dyskeratosis congenita iPSC-derived type II alveolar epithelial cells

   This article has 18 authors:

   1. Rafael Jesus Fernandez
   2. Zachary JG Gardner
   3. Katherine J Slovik
   4. Derek C Liberti
   5. Katrina N Estep
   6. Wenli Yang
   7. Qijun Chen
   8. Garrett T Santini
   9. Javier V Perez
   10. Sarah Root
   11. Ranvir Bhatia
   12. John W Tobias
   13. Apoorva Babu
   14. Michael P Morley
   15. David B Frank
   16. Edward E Morrisey
   17. Christopher J Lengner
   18. F Brad Johnson

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Summary: The investigators' study of human AT2 cells-derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iAT2 cells) in the presence and absence of a known dyskeratosis congenita (DC) pathogenic variant provides an exceptional model for understanding pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis in dyskeratosis congenita (DC) and related telomere biology disorders (TBDs). They provide convincing data demonstrating altered WNT signaling in iAT2 cells with short, dysfunctional telomeres and improved growth of iAT2 cells by GSK3 inhibition but fall short of convincingly showing the latter is due restored telomere end protection. The work should be of interest to those in the fields of telomere biology and the TBDs, lung physiology, WNT signaling and stem cell biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Global epistasis emerges from a generic model of a complex trait

    This article has 2 authors:

    1. Gautam Reddy
    2. Michael M Desai

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      The authors consider Darwinian evolution for large systems, with a main focus on how adaptation changes over time. Frequently observed patterns of declining adaptability for a population in a new environment are discussed, i.e., that fitness tends to increase fast initially and then at a slower rate. Another topic is historical contingency in adaptation. A condition for minimal contingency is provided, and a new model (the connectedness model, or CN model) is introduced accordingly. The manuscript is innovative, conceptually interesting, and provides quantitative precision beyond most related studies in the field. However, the presentation currently does not work well for a general audience.

      (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. Reviewers #1, #2, and #3 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

    Reviewed by eLife