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Cited by 387

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 17 of the 17 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Structure of the Human cGAS–DNA Complex Reveals Enhanced Control of Immune Surveillance

Open access
Zhou, Wen, Whiteley, Aaron T., de Oliveira Mann, Carina C., Morehouse, Benjamin R., Nowak, Radosław P., Fischer, Eric S., Gray, Nathanael S., Mekalanos, John J., Kranzusch, Philip J.·2018·Cell

Abstract

Summary Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) recognition of cytosolic DNA is critical for immune responses to pathogen replication, cellular stress, and cancer. Existing structures of the mouse cGAS-DNA complex provide a model for enzyme activation, but do not explain why human cGAS exhibits severely reduced levels of cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) synthesis compared to other mammals. Here we discover that enhanced DNA-length specificity restrains human cGAS activation. Using reconstitution of cGAMP signaling in bacteria, we mapped the determinant of human cGAS regulation to two amino acid substitutions in the DNA-binding surface. Human-specific substitutions are necessary and sufficient to direct preferential detection of long DNA. Crystal structures reveal why removal of human substitutions relaxes DNA-length specificity, and explain how human-specific DNA interactions favor cGAS oligomerization. These results define how DNA-sensing in humans adapted for enhanced specificity, and provide a model of the active human cGAS-DNA complex to enable structure-guided design of cGAS therapeutics. eTOC Blurb The structure of the human cGAS–DNA complex reveals regulatory adaptations that balance enzymatic activity with DNA-length sensitivity, and additional features important for drug design.

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Metadata

Authors
Zhou, W., Whiteley, A. T., de Oliveira Mann, C. C., Morehouse, B. R., Nowak, R. P., Fischer, E. S., Gray, N. S., Mekalanos, J. J., & Kranzusch, P. J.
Venue
Cell
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-07
Volume
174
Issue
2
Pages
300-311.e11
ISSN
0092-8674 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2884661296
Cited by
387
References
17
FWCI
10.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
bronze

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Structure of the Human cGAS–DNA Complex Reveals Enhanced Control of Immune Surveillance. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1016/j.cell.2018.06.026
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Zhou, W., Whiteley, A. T., de Oliveira Mann, C. C., Morehouse, B. R., Nowak, R. P., Fischer, E. S., Gray, N. S., Mekalanos, J. J., & Kranzusch, P. J. (2018). Structure of the Human cGAS–DNA Complex Reveals Enhanced Control of Immune Surveillance. Cell. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2018.06.026

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