Cited by 123interferon and immune responsesImmune Response and InflammationDNA and Nucleic Acid Chemistry

Cytosolic sensing of immuno-stimulatory DNA, the enemy within

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Dhanwani, Rekha, Takahashi, Mariko, Sharma, Sonia·2018·Current Opinion in Immunology

Abstract

In the cytoplasm, DNA is sensed as a universal danger signal by the innate immune system. Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) is a cytosolic DNA sensor/enzyme that catalyzes formation of 2'-5'-cGAMP, an atypical cyclic di-nucleotide second messenger that binds and activates the Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING), resulting in recruitment of Tank Binding Kinase 1 (TBK1), activation of the transcription factor Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 (IRF3), and trans-activation of innate immune response genes, including type I Interferon cytokines (IFN-I). Activation of the pro-inflammatory cGAS-STING-IRF3 response is triggered by direct recognition of the DNA genomes of bacteria and viruses, but also during RNA virus infection, neoplastic transformation, tumor immunotherapy and systemic auto-inflammatory diseases. In these circumstances, the source of immuno-stimulatory DNA has often represented a fundamental yet poorly understood aspect of the response. This review focuses on recent findings related to cGAS activation by an array of self-derived DNA substrates, including endogenous retroviral elements, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and micronuclei generated as a result of genotoxic stress and DNA damage. These findings emphasize the role of the cGAS axis as a cell-intrinsic innate immune response to a wide variety of genomic insults.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.coi.2017.11.004

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  • Knockdown of the cytosolic DNA sensing pathway components cGAS or STING inhibited the IFN-I response in both late senescent and 3X cells, and also downregulated the SASP response in late senescent cells.

    “As this model would predict, knockdown of the cytosolic DNA sensing pathway components cGAS or STING17 inhibited the IFN-I response in both late senescent and 3X cells (Extended Data Fig. 5l and Fig. 7c, d), and also downregulated the SASP response in late senescent cells (Extended Data Fig. 7e).”

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Authors
Dhanwani, R., Takahashi, M., & Sharma, S.
Affiliations
La Jolla Institute for Immunology (US)
Corresponding author
Sharma, Sonia
Venue
Current Opinion in Immunology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-02
Volume
50
Pages
82-87
ISSN
0952-7915 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2771759088
Cited by
123
References
62
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 11
FWCI
1.26
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Current Opinion in Immunology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Cancer Institute (R01CA199376)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › interferon and immune responses
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immune Response and Inflammation
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › DNA and Nucleic Acid Chemistry
Keywords
cGAS-STING pathway, cytosolic DNA sensing, STING, IRF3, type I interferon, innate immunity, endogenous retroviruses, mitochondrial DNA, micronuclei, genotoxic stress, DNA damage, cancer immunotherapy, autoinflammatory disease, RNA virus infection, oncogenic transformation
MeSH terms
Animals, Antigens, Cytosol, DNA, DNA Damage, Humans, Immunity, Immunity, Innate, Infections, Inflammation, Neoplasms, Host-Pathogen Interactions

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