EXOC2 and fungal infectious disease: To determine if the SEC5-TBK1-IRF-3 signaling cascade is involved in C. albicans infection, we analyzed the phosphorylation of TBK1 (p-TBK1) and IRF-3 nuclear translocation during fungal infection, the results of which showed that C. albicans stimulation increased p-TBK1 levels in RAW264.7 cells (Fig. 5a).