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Publication Abstract from PubMed

P26, a homolog of the viral-encoded nuclease poxin that neutralizes the cGAS-STING innate immunity, is widely distributed in various invertebrate viruses, lepidopteran insects, and parasitoid wasps. P26/poxin from certain insect viruses also retains protease activity, though its biological role remains unknown. Given that many P26s contain a signal peptide, it is surmised that P26 may possess certain extracellular functions. Here, we report that a secretory baculoviral P26 suppresses melanization, a prominent insect innate immunity against pathogen invasion. P26 targets the cofactor of a prophenoloxidase-activating protease, and its inhibitory function is independent of nuclease activity. The analysis of P26/poxin homologs from different origins suggests that the ability to inhibit the extracellular melanization pathway is limited to P26s with a signal peptide and not shared by the homologs without it. These findings highlight the independent evolution of a single viral suppressor to perform dual roles in modulating immunity during virus-host adaptation.

Dual roles and evolutionary implications of P26/poxin in antagonizing intracellular cGAS-STING and extracellular melanization immunity.,Yin M, Kuang W, Wang Q, Wang X, Yuan C, Lin Z, Zhang H, Deng F, Jiang H, Gong P, Zou Z, Hu Z, Wang M Nat Commun. 2022 Nov 14;13(1):6934. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-34761-0. PMID:36376305^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.