Opportunistic fungal infections have become one of the leading causes of death among immunocompromised patients, resulting in an estimated 1.5 million deaths each year worldwide. The molecular mechanisms that promote host defense against fungal infections remain elusive. Here, we find that Myosin IF (MYO1F), an unconventional myosin, promotes the expression of genes that are critical for antifungal innate immune signaling and proinflammatory responses. Mechanistically, MYO1F is required for dectin-induced α-tubulin acetylation, acting as an adaptor that recruits both the adaptor AP2A1 and α-tubulin N-acetyltransferase 1 to α-tubulin; in turn, these events control the membrane-to-cytoplasm trafficking of spleen tyrosine kinase and caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 9. Myo1f-deficient mice are more susceptible than their wild-type counterparts to the lethal sequelae of systemic infection with Candida albicans. Notably, administration of Sirt2 deacetylase inhibitors, namely AGK2, AK-1, or AK-7, significantly increases the dectin-induced expression of proinflammatory genes in mouse bone marrow–derived macrophages and microglia, thereby protecting mice from both systemic and central nervous system C. albicans infections. AGK2 also promotes proinflammatory gene expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells after Dectin stimulation. Taken together, our findings describe a key role for MYO1F in promoting antifungal immunity by regulating the acetylation of α-tubulin and microtubules, and our findings suggest that Sirt2 deacetylase inhibitors may be developed as potential drugs for the treatment of fungal infections.

Plant spermatogenesis is a complex process that directly affects crop breeding. A rapid change in gene abundance occurs at early meiosis prophase, when gene regulation is selective. However, how these genes are regulated remains unknown. Here, we show that rice reproductive phasiRNAs are essential for the elimination of a specific set of RNAs during meiotic prophase I. These phasiRNAs cleave target mRNAs in a regulatory manner such that one phasiRNA can target more than one gene, and/or a single gene can be targeted by more than one phasiRNA to efficiently silence target genes. Our investigation of phasiRNA-knockdown and PHAS-edited transgenic plants demonstrates that phasiRNAs and their nucleotide variations are required for meiosis progression and fertility. This study highlights the importance of reproductive phasiRNAs for the reprogramming of gene expression during meiotic progression and establishes a basis for future studies on the roles of phasiRNAs with a goal of crop improvement.

The intine, the inner layer of the pollen wall, is essential for the normal development and germination of pollen. However, the composition and developmental regulation of the intine in rice (Oryza sativa) remain largely unknown. Here, we identify a microRNA, OsmiR528, which regulates the formation of the pollen intine and thus male fertility in rice. Themir528knockout mutant aborted pollen development at the late binucleate pollen stage, significantly decreasing the seed-setting rate. We further demonstrated that OsmiR528 affects pollen development by directly targeting the uclacyanin geneOsUCL23(encoding a member of the plant-specific blue copper protein family of phytocyanins) and regulating intine deposition.OsUCL23overexpression phenocopied themir528mutant. The OsUCL23 protein localized in the prevacuolar compartments (PVCs) and multivesicular bodies (MVBs). We further revealed that OsUCL23 interacts with a member of the proton-dependent oligopeptide transport (POT) family of transporters to regulate various metabolic components, especially flavonoids. We propose a model in which OsmiR528 regulates pollen intine formation by directly targetingOsUCL23and in which OsUCL23 interacts with the POT protein on the PVCs and MVBs to regulate the production of metabolites during pollen development. The study thus reveals the functions of OsmiR528 and an uclacyanin during pollen development.

The TAGAP gene locus has been linked to several infectious diseases or autoimmune diseases, including candidemia and multiple sclerosis. While previous studies have described a role of TAGAP in T cells, much less is known about its function in other cell types. Here we report that TAGAP is required for Dectin-induced anti-fungal signaling and proinflammatory cytokine production in myeloid cells. Following stimulation with Dectin ligands, TAGAP is phosphorylated by EPHB2 at tyrosine 310, which bridges proximal Dectin-induced EPHB2 activity to downstream CARD9-mediated signaling pathways. During Candida albicans infection, mice lacking TAGAP mount defective immune responses, impaired Th17 cell differentiation, and higher fungal burden. Similarly, in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model of multiple sclerosis, TAGAP deficient mice develop significantly attenuated disease. In summary, we report that TAGAP plays an important role in linking Dectin-induced signaling to the promotion of effective T helper cell immune responses, during both antifungal host defense and autoimmunity.

The cereal endosperm is a major factor determining seed size and shape. However, the molecular mechanisms of endosperm development are not fully understood. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) function in various biological processes. Here we show a lncRNA, MISSEN, that plays an essential role in early endosperm development in rice (Oryza sativa). MISSEN is a parent-of-origin lncRNA expressed in endosperm, and negatively regulates endosperm development, leading to a prominent dent and bulge in the seed. Mechanistically, MISSEN functions through hijacking a helicase family protein (HeFP) to regulate tubulin function during endosperm nucleus division and endosperm cellularization, resulting in abnormal cytoskeletal polymerization. Finally, we revealed that the expression of MISSEN is inhibited by histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) modification after pollination. Therefore, MISSEN is the first lncRNA identified as a regulator in endosperm development, highlighting the potential applications in rice breeding.

Therapeutic blockade of the immune checkpoint proteins programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4) has transformed cancer treatment. However, the overall response rate to these treatments is low, suggesting that immune checkpoint activation is not the only mechanism leading to dysfunctional anti-tumour immunity. Here we show that butyrophilin-like protein 2 (BTNL2) is a potent suppressor of the anti-tumour immune response. Antibody-mediated blockade of BTNL2 attenuates tumour progression in multiple in vivo murine tumour models, resulting in prolonged survival of tumour-bearing mice. Mechanistically, BTNL2 interacts with local γδ T cell populations to promote IL-17A production in the tumour microenvironment. Inhibition of BTNL2 reduces the number of tumour-infiltrating IL-17A-producing γδ T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, while facilitating cytotoxic CD8+ T cell accumulation. Furthermore, we find high BTNL2 expression in several human tumour samples from highly prevalent cancer types, which negatively correlates with overall patient survival. Thus, our results suggest that BTNL2 is a negative regulator of anti-tumour immunity and a potential target for cancer immunotherapy.

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Y.W. helped to perform the mass spectrometry identification of TRAF3IP2-AS1 interacting proteins; L.Z. and C.-j.Z. helped to perform the EAE study and analyzed the EAE data; B.N.M. provided reagents and helped to polish the English writing; R.H. and C.W. analyzed the data; and C.W. wrote the manuscript and oversaw the experiments with C.-j.Z. and Y.W.