eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Overt visual attention modulates decision-related signals in ventral and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Blair Shevlin
   2. Rachael Gwinn
   3. Aidan Makwana
   4. Ian Krajbich

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study uses an innovative task design combined with eye tracking and fMRI to distinguish brain regions that encode the value of individual items from those that accumulate those values for value-based choices. It shows that distinct brain regions carry signals for currently evaluated and previously accumulated evidence. The study provides solid evidence in support of most of its claims, albeit with current minor weaknesses concerning the evidence in favour of gaze-modulation of the fMRI signal. The work will be of interest to neuroscientists working on attention and decision-making.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. CO ₂ -dependent opening of Connexin 43 hemichannels

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Valentin-Mihai Dospinescu
   2. Alexander Mascarenhas
   3. Jack Butler
   4. Sarbjit Nijjar
   5. Kyara de Oliveira Taborda
   6. Sean Connors
   7. Lumei Huang
   8. Nicholas Dale

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides important insights into the CO₂-dependent activation of Cx43 hemichannels through a well-defined carbamylation motif, supported by multiple independent assays and validation in hippocampal tissue. The evidence convincingly demonstrates that increased pCO₂ enhances Cx43 hemichannel activity, which has potential implications for cellular signaling in cardiomyocytes and astrocytes. While further investigation is needed to fully elucidate the structural mechanisms, the findings offer a foundation for future research in gap junction biology and CO₂ regulation of proteins.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Microenvironmental arginine restriction sensitizes pancreatic cancers to polyunsaturated fatty acids by suppression of lipid synthesis

   This article has 18 authors:

   1. Patrick B. Jonker
   2. Mumina Sadullozoda
   3. Guillaume Cognet
   4. Juan J. Apiz Saab
   5. Kelly H. Sokol
   6. Violet X. Wu
   7. Deepa Kumari
   8. Colin Sheehan
   9. Mete E. Ozgurses
   10. Darby Agovino
   11. Grace Croley
   12. Smit A. Patel
   13. Althea Bock-Hughes
   14. Kay F. Macleod
   15. Hardik Shah
   16. Jonathan L. Coloff
   17. Evan C. Lien
   18. Alexander Muir

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study shows that nutrient stress emanating from the microenvironment induces metabolic vulnerabilities in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Using a combination of cell-based and mouse models, the authors provide compelling evidence showing that arginine restriction in the microenvironment disrupts lipid homeostasis in PDAC, resulting in the induction of ferroptosis upon exposure of tumors to polyunsaturated fatty acids. This report is likely to be of broad interest to researchers interested in studying cancer biology, tumor microenvironment, metabolism, and stress adaptation mechanisms.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. KDM5 demethylases suppress R-loop-mediated “viral mimicry” and DNA damage in breast cancer cells

   This article has 19 authors:

   1. Lena Lau
   2. Kurt Henderson
   3. Ahu Turkoz
   4. Sara Linker
   5. Dörte Schlesinger
   6. Brad Townsley
   7. Brian Egan
   8. Shoba Ragunathan
   9. Robert Rollins
   10. Xianju Bi
   11. Zhijian Chen
   12. Oleg Brodsky
   13. Clifford Restaino
   14. Murali Gururajan
   15. Kristen Jensen-Pergakes
   16. Anders Malarstig
   17. Chames Kermi
   18. Paul Moore
   19. Marie Classon

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents a valuable finding that KDM5 inhibition activates the interferon response and antigen presentation genes in breast cancer cells through R-loops. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid, although the inclusion of further in vivo studies displaying the effects of KDM5 inhibitors on the immunotherapy responses of breast tumors would have strengthened the study. The work will be of interest to scientists working in the field of breast cancer immunotherapy.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Task and Behavior-Related Variables Are Encoded by the Postrhinal and Medial Entorhinal Cortex During Non-Spatial Associative Learning

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Ingeborg Nymoen Nystuen
   2. Frederik Sebastian Rogge
   3. Anna Hjertvik Aasen
   4. Sverre Grødem
   5. Anders Malthe-Sørenssen
   6. Mikkel Elle Lepperød
   7. Torkel Hafting
   8. Marianne Fyhn
   9. Kristian Kinden Lensjø

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study investigates how neural representations in the postrhinal and medial entorhinal cortices evolve with the learning of a visual associative memory task in mice. The findings provide new insights into how non-spatial information is differentially encoded across interconnected brain areas, with compelling evidence that stimulus encoding is robust in the postrhinal cortex and emerges more weakly in the medial entorhinal cortex with learning. The evidence is solid overall, particularly in the use of sophisticated population-level analyses and two-photon imaging across learning phases, although the interpretation of regression models and clustering would benefit from additional clarity and control. The work will be of broad interest to systems neuroscientists studying learning, memory, and cortical circuit function.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. DuoHexaBody-CD37 induces direct cytotoxic signaling in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Simar Pal Singh
   2. Michelle D van den Beukel
   3. Sjoerd van Deventer
   4. Marije B Overdijk
   5. M Guy Roukens
   6. Kim CM Santegoets
   7. Esther CW Breij
   8. Martin ter Beest
   9. Annemiek B van Spriel

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents a valuable finding on the direct cytotoxic effects of DuoHexaBody-CD37 in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, mediated via SHP-1 activation and antibody clustering, independent of complement. The evidence supporting this mechanism is incomplete, with additional work needed to clarify SHP-1's role, the contribution of Fc receptor crosslinking, and the biological relevance across normal and malignant B cells. As the findings are based primarily on in vitro models, further validation would be required to support broader translational conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Mouse sensorimotor cortex reflects complex kinematic details during reaching and grasping

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Harrison A Grier
   2. Sohrab Salimian
   3. Matthew T Kaufman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The granularity with which neural activity in the sensorimotor cortex of mice corresponds to voluntary forelimb motion is a key open question. This paper provides convincing evidence for the encoding of low-level features like joint angles and represents an important step forward toward understanding the cortical origins of limb control signals.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. IL-27 limits HSPC differentiation during infection and protects from stem cell exhaustion

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Daniel L Aldridge
   2. Zachary Lanzar
   3. Anthony T Phan
   4. David A Christian
   5. Ryan Pardy
   6. Booki Min
   7. Ross M Kedl
   8. Christopher A Hunter

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The article presents important findings describing the role of IL27 in maintaining HSCs at steady state, and in emergency haematopoiesis in response to T. goodii by limiting the inflammatory monocyte outcomes. However, the evidence is still incomplete, as not enough evidence is provided to support that IL27 only acts at the level of HSCs and not downstream. This study will be of interest to immunologists and hematologists, as well as infectious disease researchers.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Atomistic Simulation of Voltage Activation of a Truncated BK Channel

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Zhiguang Jia
   2. Jianhan Chen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study addresses the structural basis of voltage-activation of BK channels using atomistic simulations of several microseconds, to assess conformational changes that underlie both voltage-sensing and gating of the pore. Simulated effects of voltage on the movement of charged amino acids appear solid as they are generally consistent qualitatively and quantitatively with previous experimental and structural results, providing a potentially valuable way to calculate the contribution of individual charges to voltage-sensitivity. Simulations of conformational changes and interactions associated with channel opening and K+ conduction are likely incomplete owing to the timescale of the simulation and theoretical limitations in simulating K+ and water movement, but nonetheless provide helpful initial predictions and a framework for future improvement. This paper will likely be of interest to ion channel biologists and biophysicists focused on voltage-dependent channel gating mechanisms.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Single-cell transcriptomics of X-ray irradiated Drosophila wing discs reveals heterogeneity related to cell-cycle status and cell location

    This article has 4 authors:

    1. Joyner Cruz
    2. Willam Y Sun
    3. Alexandra Verbeke
    4. Iswar K Hariharan

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This important study uses standard single-cell RNA-seq analyses combined with methods from the social sciences to assess heterogeneity in gene expression in Drosophila imaginal wing disc cells treated with 4000 rads of ionizing radiation. The use of this methodology from social sciences is novel in Drosophila. A cell cycle based clustering approach allows them to identify a subpopulation of cells that is disproportionately responsible for much of the radiation-induced gene expression. Their convincing analyses reveal genes that are expressed regionally after irradiation, including ligands and transcription factors that have been associated with regeneration, as well as others whose roles in response to irradiation are unknown. This paper would be of interest to researchers in the field of DNA damage responses, regeneration, and development.

    Reviewed by eLife