eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. A highly conserved host lipase deacylates oxidized phospholipids and ameliorates acute lung injury in mice

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Benkun Zou
   2. Michael Goodwin
   3. Danial Saleem
   4. Wei Jiang
   5. Jianguo Tang
   6. Yiwei Chu
   7. Robert S Munford
   8. Mingfang Lu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The paper describes novel structures of a protein recently reported to function as a mechanosensitive ion channel. Surprisingly, the structures and functional data rather support the formerly suggested role of this protein in lipid metabolism. The paper is of relevance for ion channel field and for those interested in fatty acid metabolism.

     (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. Dual mechanisms of opioid-induced respiratory depression in the inspiratory rhythm-generating network

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Nathan A Baertsch
   2. Nicholas E Bush
   3. Nicholas J Burgraff
   4. Jan-Marino Ramirez

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Opioids are widely used as pain killers, but present the severe side-effect of respiratory depression. The study from Baertsch et al. provides a mechanistic understanding of the actions of opioids on breathing by elucidating some of the biophysical and synaptic mechanisms by which opioids depress breathing with the goal of identifying therapeutic strategies. The data suggest that opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD) is due to both presynaptic hyperpolarization, and reduction of synaptic efficacy. The paper is generally well written and the data presented for the most part advances understanding of the mechanisms of OIRD at the level of central respiratory neural circuits.

     (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

3. Linker histone H1.8 inhibits chromatin binding of condensins and DNA topoisomerase II to tune chromosome length and individualization

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Pavan Choppakatla
   2. Bastiaan Dekker
   3. Erin E Cutts
   4. Alessandro Vannini
   5. Job Dekker
   6. Hironori Funabiki

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper will be of interest to scientists within the field of chromosome biology. The authors take advantage of the Xenopus egg cell free system and combine classical morphological analyses by immunofluorescence with chromosome conformation (Hi-C) analyses to elucidate the contribution of linker histone H1 to mitotic chromosome organization. The authors find that linker histone H1 limits the association of condensin and topoisomerase II to control chromosome length.

     (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. CTP promotes efficient ParB-dependent DNA condensation by facilitating one-dimensional diffusion from parS

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Francisco de Asis Balaguer
   2. Clara Aicart-Ramos
   3. Gemma LM Fisher
   4. Sara de Bragança
   5. Eva M Martin-Cuevas
   6. Cesar L Pastrana
   7. Mark Simon Dillingham
   8. Fernando Moreno-Herrero

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study applies single-molecule the nanomechanical DNA manipulation together with the direct fluorescent visualization to examine the mechanism of assembly of bacterial partition/segregation complexes by the ParB protein and the ensuing condensation of parS-containing DNA. The experiments specifically show how this assembly and its DNA specificity are promoted by CTP. The authors convincingly show that following association at ParS, CTP-binding allowed ParB to diffusively spread along the DNA. ParB spreading along the DNA was in turn the prerequisite for DNA condensation mediated by this protein. Upon clarification of the ParB diffusive spreading mechanism and its activity under physiological circumstances, this study will be of broad interest to those studying protein-DNA interactions and cell division. The nanomechanical DNA condensation experiments together with the combined direct fluorescent visualization represent a helpful methodological development for future studies of this and similar 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. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Transcriptomic encoding of sensorimotor transformation in the midbrain

   This article has 20 authors:

   1. Zhiyong Xie
   2. Mengdi Wang
   3. Zeyuan Liu
   4. Congping Shang
   5. Changjiang Zhang
   6. Le Sun
   7. Huating Gu
   8. Gengxin Ran
   9. Qing Pei
   10. Qiang Ma
   11. Meizhu Huang
   12. Junjing Zhang
   13. Rui Lin
   14. Youtong Zhou
   15. Jiyao Zhang
   16. Miao Zhao
   17. Minmin Luo
   18. Qian Wu
   19. Peng Cao
   20. Xiaoqun Wang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This excellent manuscript combines molecular, anatomical and behavioral methods to characterize neuron types in the mouse superior colliculus. It will likely be a significant resource to those who study how these circuits integrate sensory information to promote motor output. A diverse set of experiments supports the conclusion that the superior colliculus includes separate circuit modules involved in distinct behaviors: prey capture and predator escape.

     (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

6. Ripples reflect a spectrum of synchronous spiking activity in human anterior temporal lobe

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Ai Phuong S Tong
   2. Alex P Vaz
   3. John H Wittig
   4. Sara K Inati
   5. Kareem A Zaghloul

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study investigates the relationship between neuronal spiking and local field potential (LFP) activity recorded on micro-electrodes, and intracranial EEG activity recorded on macro-electrodes using a data from human patients with epilepsy. The dataset is rare and unique in that it is from the human brain and recording neural activity from multiple scales (single neuron, LFP, iEEG) within the same subjects. The study tackles important questions with regards to how ripples relate to broadband LFP activity as well as single neurons in the human brain. This results will be of interest to a broad audience of neuroscientists, and particularly to readers in the field of memory as well as those who perform electrophysiology.

     (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. Structure of Escherichia coli respiratory complex I reconstituted into lipid nanodiscs reveals an uncoupled conformation

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Piotr Kolata
   2. Rouslan G Efremov

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The manuscript reports the cryoEM structure of a functional E. coli respiratory complex I (proton-pumping NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase) reconstituted in lipid nano-discs. The reconstructions and models presented by the authors indicate interesting E. coli specific features of the complex, although there are some concerns about model accuracy. Overall this can be a major advance for the structure of this important respiratory complex from a key model organism.

     (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

8. A qnr-plasmid allows aminoglycosides to induce SOS in Escherichia coli

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Anamaria Babosan
   2. David Skurnik
   3. Anaëlle Muggeo
   4. Gerald B Pier
   5. Zeynep Baharoglu
   6. Thomas Jové
   7. Marie-Cécile Ploy
   8. Sophie Griveau
   9. Fethi Bedioui
   10. Sébastien Vergnolle
   11. Sophie Moussalih
   12. Christophe de Champs
   13. Didier Mazel
   14. Thomas Guillard

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript describes how a small plasmid containing a quinolone resistance determinant changes the cellular response to sub-inhibitory concentrations of Tobramycin. Authors have found that Escherichia coli cells carrying this plasmid undergo nitrosative stress mediated by two previously uncharacterized genes, which leads to induction of the SOS response, a well described stress response in bacteria. These findings are relevant for readers across the microbiology and genetics fields.

     (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. Understanding patterns of HIV multi-drug resistance through models of temporal and spatial drug heterogeneity

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Alison F Feder
   2. Kristin N Harper
   3. Chanson J Brumme
   4. Pleuni S Pennings

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study considers how HIV evolutionary dynamics in a multiple drug-treated individual can give rise to the clinical patterns of the accrual of drug resistance mutations, including with understandings of the pharmacokinetics of the drugs in the body to help explain some of the patterns. The subject is of importance both clinically – for the optimal treatment choice for people living with HIV – and scientifically, due to the potential to predict and interpret evolutionary trajectories.

     (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

10. Resonating neurons stabilize heterogeneous grid-cell networks

    This article has 2 authors:

    1. Divyansh Mittal
    2. Rishikesh Narayanan

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      This is a careful and systematic simulation study that convincingly illustrates a role for intrinsic resonance properties in suppressing the effects of cellular and network heterogeneities in a continuous attractor network model of grid cell firing patterns. The study shows that overly simplified models of neurons can lead to fragility in important network level behaviour and that intrinsic neuronal properties strongly influence relevant network level dynamics. This an important result that likely applies to a broad range of network models. Further investigation into the mechanism, possibly using a simplified model, would substantiate the simulation results and fully exploit the power of models in providing intuition and illustrating the generality of the observations.

      (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