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Summary: Dynamic regulation of integrin activation and inactivation is critical for precisely controlled cell adhesion and migration in physiological and pathological processes. The molecular basis for integrin activation has been intensively studied; however, the understanding of integrin inactivation is still limited. Here, we identify LRP12 as an endogenous transmembrane inhibitor for α4 integrin activation. The LRP12 cytoplasmic domain directly binds to the integrin α4 cytoplasmic tail and inhibits talin binding to the β subunit, thus keeping integrin inactive. In migrating cells, LRP12-α4 interaction induces nascent adhesion (NA) turnover at the leading-edge protrusion. Knockdown of LRP12 leads to increased NAs and enhanced cell migration. Consistently, LRP12-deficient T cells show an enhanced homing capability in mice and lead to aggravated chronic colitis in a T cell-transfer colitis model. Altogether, LRP12 is a transmembrane inactivator for integrins that inhibits α4 integrin activation and controls cell migration by maintaining balanced NA dynamics.

Weeds were one of the most destructive constraints on crop production and posed a significant threat to agricultural productivity. The increasing development of smart agriculture promoted the innovation and development of precise weed control techniques. With the application of deep learning in agriculture, more and more emerging technologies have been applied to weed identification. This paper reviewed recent emerging technologies based on deep learning in weed detection. First, the definition, development, and application of technologies such as transfer learning, neural architecture search, domain adaptation, knowledge distillation, and generative adjunctive neural networks are effectively summarized and explained. Next, specific cases of new technologies to solve the challenges in the field of early weed identification are provided. Finally, the technical challenges and possible future roadmap for emerging technologies are discussed and proposed. Collaboration between emerging technologies would become a more attractive development direction than upgrading single technologies in this roadmap. This review would provide a timely field survey and attract more researchers to address this interdisciplinary research issue.

Summary: The protein C receptor (Procr) has been implicated as a stem cell surface marker in several tissues. It is unknown whether Procr acts as a functional signaling receptor in stem cells. Here, by conditional knockout in mammary stem cells (MaSCs), we demonstrate that Procr is essential for mammary gland development and homeostasis. Through proteomics profiling, we identify that, upon stimulation by the ligand protein C, Procr interacts with heat shock protein 90 (HSP90AA1) via its short cytoplasmic tail, recruiting Src and IGF1R to the complex at the plasma membrane. We show that Procr acts as a signaling receptor of protein C in regulation of MaSCs through HSP90, Src, and IGF1R in vitro. In vivo, IGF1R deletion in MaSCs displays similar phenotypes to Procr deletion. These findings illustrate the essential role of Procr signaling in MaSC maintenance, shedding light onto the molecular regulation by Procr in tissue stem cells.