Cited by 104Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsNeurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments

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Blockade of STING Activation Alleviates Microglial Dysfunction and a Broad Spectrum of Alzheimer's Disease Pathologies

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Chung, Sunwoo, Jeong, June-Hyun, Park, Jong-Chan, Han, Jong Won, Lee, Yeajina, Kim, Jong-Il, Mook-Jung, Inhee·2024·Experimental & Molecular Medicine

Abstract

Abnormal glial activation promotes neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia. Stimulation of the cGAS-STING pathway induces microglial dysfunction and sterile inflammation, which exacerbates AD. We showed that inhibiting STING activation can control microglia and ameliorate a wide spectrum of AD symptoms. The cGAS-STING pathway is required for the detection of ectopic DNA and the subsequent immune response. Amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau induce mitochondrial stress, which causes DNA to be released into the cytoplasm of microglia. cGAS and STING are highly expressed in Aβ plaque-associated microglia, and neuronal STING is upregulated in the brains of AD model animals. The presence of the APOE ε4 allele, an AD risk factor, also upregulated both proteins. STING activation was necessary for microglial NLRP3 activation, proinflammatory responses, and type-I-interferon responses. Pharmacological STING inhibition reduced a wide range of AD pathogenic features in App NL-G-F /hTau double-knock-in mice. An unanticipated transcriptome shift in microglia reduced gliosis and cerebral inflammation. Significant reductions in the Aβ load, tau phosphorylation, and microglial synapse engulfment prevented memory loss. To summarize, our study describes the pathogenic mechanism of STING activation as well as its potential as a therapeutic target in AD.

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TL;DR

In AD model mice and human iPSC-derived microglia, Aβ, tau, and APOE ε4 activate cGAS-STING, and STING is required for microglial inflammatory, type-I-IFN, and NLRP3 responses. Pharmacological STING inhibition with H-151 in AppNL-G-F/hTau double-knock-in mice reduced gliosis, Aβ burden, tau phosphorylation, synaptic engulfment, and memory impairment.

Key findings

  • cGAS and STING were increased in AppNL-G-F, ADLPAPP/PS1, and AppNL-G-F/hTau dKI brains; cGAMP was significantly elevated in AppNL-G-F cortex (N = 6,6), and cGAS/STING were highly expressed in Aβ plaque-associated microglia.
  • Aβ and tau increased cytoplasmic dsDNA in primary microglia; Aβ induced a proinflammatory followed by type-I-IFN response, while tau induced a type-I-IFN-skewed response. H-151 blocked persistent proinflammatory/IFN responses, iNOS, p-STAT1, ISG15, and NLRP3/IL-1β maturation.
  • APOE ε4/ε4 iMGs had almost twice the cGAS and STING protein levels of ε3/ε3 iMGs without stimulation; STING-KO ε4 iMGs tended to abrogate higher IFNB1/TNFA expression.
  • In 10-month dKI mice, H-151 for 2.5 months reduced Iba1+ and GFAP+ areas, Aβ plaque coverage, Gu-HCl-soluble Aβ40/Aβ42, p-tau at pT181, AT8, pS356, pS396, and pS422, microglial p-STAT1, and PSD95 engulfment, and improved Y-maze and novel object recognition performance (n = 13 per group). Microglial RNA-seq found 34 upregulated and 132 downregulated genes in dKI mice, 434 upregulated genes in WT mice, 5 shared upregulated and 73 shared downregulated transcripts, and 78 STING-dependent microglial genes.

Methods

  • Female AppNL-G-F knock-in and AppNL-G-F/hTau double-knock-in C57BL/6 mice were used; 10-month-old dKI mice received intraperitoneal H-151 at 210 μg (7 mg/kg) three times weekly for 2.5 months. Primary microglia/neurons and human APOE ε3/ε4 iPSC-derived microglia-like cells, including CRISPR STING knockout, were also studied.
  • Main assays included immunoblotting, immunofluorescence, Aβ fractionation/ELISA, cGAMP ELISA, cytoplasmic dsDNA PicoGreen measurement, CD11b+ microglia isolation with RNA-seq (DESeq2, GO, GSEA), and Y-maze/NOR behavioral tests.
  • Statistics used unpaired Student’s t-test, one-way or two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple-comparisons test, or Mann-Whitney test; p ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.

Limitations

  • Stated: the cause of increased neuronal STING in the AD brain remains to be determined; H-151 was given intraperitoneally for 2.5 months, so chronic or peripheral effects may have contributed; the relationship between cGAS-STING and T-cell infiltration was not directly addressed and requires further systematic analysis.
  • Stated: pharmacological STING inhibition unexpectedly increased some chemokines and interferon-stimulated genes in dKI microglia, and it is difficult to determine why Cxcl10 and a few other genes were elevated.
  • Evident: in vivo experiments used female mice only, and the study relies on mouse models and iPSC-derived microglia rather than human AD brain tissue validation.

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Crossref · 10.1038/s12276-024-01295-y

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Figures

Fig. 1 The cGAS-STING pathway is activated in AD model mice. a Representative immunoblots of brain cGAS, STING, and AIM2 protein levels in AppNL-G-F/hTay-dKI (dKI) mice. b Quantification of cGAS, STING, and AIM2 total protein levels. c, Representative images showing cGAS, STING, Iba1, and Aβ immunostaining in the cortex of 9-month-old dKI mice (n = 5,5). The circles indicate the proximal area of the Aβ plaque. Scale bars, 20 μm. d Quantification of cGAS and STING signal coverage in the plaque proximal Iba1-positive area and outside of the Iba1-positive area. n = 21, N = 7 for cGAS; n = 12, N = 6 for STING. e Volcano plot of RNA-seq data for brain-isolated microglia from WT and dKI mice. Red and blue dots represent DEGs with a log2FC > |0.8| and a p-value < 0.05. f DEGs related to cGAS-STING pathway activation. g Measurement of cGAMP levels in the cortex of AppNL-G-F-KI mice by ELISA. N = 6,6. h Summary of the quantification of cGAS, STING and γH2AX levels in AppNL-G-F and ADLPAPP/PS1 mouse brains, which revealed that cGAS and STING were induced earlier than γH2AX. Related to Supplementary Fig. 1. N = 7.7 for 4.5 m ADLPAPP/PS1 mice, N = 6.7 for 8 m ADLPAPP/PS1 mice, N = 6.6 for AppNL-G-F mice. i Representative immunostaining images of anti-Aβ, anti-dsDNA, and anti-p-tau antibodies in the brains of dKI mice. The arrows indicate DNA and p-tau signals in the proximal plaque area. Scale bars, 20 μm.In (b), (d), (g), and (h), the data are presented as the mean ± standard error the mean (SEM). Statistical significance was determined by Student’s t-test. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001. n indicates biological replicates, and N indicates individual mice.
Fig. 1 The cGAS-STING pathway is activated in AD model mice. a Representative immunoblots of brain cGAS, STING, and AIM2 protein levels in AppNL-G-F/hTay-dKI (dKI) mice. b Quantification of cGAS, STING, and AIM2 total protein levels. c, Representative images showing cGAS, STING, Iba1, and Aβ immunostaining in the cortex of 9-month-old dKI mice (n = 5,5). The circles indicate the proximal area of the Aβ plaque. Scale bars, 20 μm. d Quantification of cGAS and STING signal coverage in the plaque proximal Iba1-positive area and outside of the Iba1-positive area. n = 21, N = 7 for cGAS; n = 12, N = 6 for STING. e Volcano plot of RNA-seq data for brain-isolated microglia from WT and dKI mice. Red and blue dots represent DEGs with a log2FC > |0.8| and a p-value < 0.05. f DEGs related to cGAS-STING pathway activation. g Measurement of cGAMP levels in the cortex of AppNL-G-F-KI mice by ELISA. N = 6,6. h Summary of the quantification of cGAS, STING and γH2AX levels in AppNL-G-F and ADLPAPP/PS1 mouse brains, which revealed that cGAS and STING were induced earlier than γH2AX. Related to Supplementary Fig. 1. N = 7.7 for 4.5 m ADLPAPP/PS1 mice, N = 6.7 for 8 m ADLPAPP/PS1 mice, N = 6.6 for AppNL-G-F mice. i Representative immunostaining images of anti-Aβ, anti-dsDNA, and anti-p-tau antibodies in the brains of dKI mice. The arrows indicate DNA and p-tau signals in the proximal plaque area. Scale bars, 20 μm.In (b), (d), (g), and (h), the data are presented as the mean ± standard error the mean (SEM). Statistical significance was determined by Student’s t-test. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001. n indicates biological replicates, and N indicates individual mice.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 2 Aβ and tau both induced ectopic DNA accumulation and cGAS-STING pathway activation through different mechanisms in microglia. a Representative immunostaining images of DNA and Tom20 in primary microglia treated with Aβ and tau for 24 h. The arrow indicates ectopic DNA in the cytoplasm. Scale bars, 2 μm. b Quantification of DAPI- and Tom20-negative DNA signals in the cytoplasm of microglia. n = 51, 53, 72, N = 5 for each group. c Scheme of the subcellular fractionation of primary microglia. d Quantification of cytoplasmic dsDNA accumulation in Aβ- and tau-treated primary microglia. The cytoplasmic dsDNA signal was normalized to the β-actin immunoblot signal from the cytoplasmic fraction. N = 6 for each group. e Representative immunoblots of cGAS-STING pathway proteins in primary microglia treated with Aβ, tau, and cGAMP for 24 h. f Quantification of cGAS, STING and downstream molecules. N = 6,6,6,5. g Heatmap of the expression patterns of proinflammatory cytokines and type-I-interferon response genes in Aβ- and tau-treated primary microglia. H: H-151. n = 4 for each group. In (b), (d), and (f), the data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined by Student’s t-test; #p < 0.05. ####p < 0.0001., and one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. ***p < 0.001. ****p < 0.0001. n indicates individual cells, N indicates individual biological replicates.
Fig. 2 Aβ and tau both induced ectopic DNA accumulation and cGAS-STING pathway activation through different mechanisms in microglia. a Representative immunostaining images of DNA and Tom20 in primary microglia treated with Aβ and tau for 24 h. The arrow indicates ectopic DNA in the cytoplasm. Scale bars, 2 μm. b Quantification of DAPI- and Tom20-negative DNA signals in the cytoplasm of microglia. n = 51, 53, 72, N = 5 for each group. c Scheme of the subcellular fractionation of primary microglia. d Quantification of cytoplasmic dsDNA accumulation in Aβ- and tau-treated primary microglia. The cytoplasmic dsDNA signal was normalized to the β-actin immunoblot signal from the cytoplasmic fraction. N = 6 for each group. e Representative immunoblots of cGAS-STING pathway proteins in primary microglia treated with Aβ, tau, and cGAMP for 24 h. f Quantification of cGAS, STING and downstream molecules. N = 6,6,6,5. g Heatmap of the expression patterns of proinflammatory cytokines and type-I-interferon response genes in Aβ- and tau-treated primary microglia. H: H-151. n = 4 for each group. In (b), (d), and (f), the data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined by Student’s t-test; #p < 0.05. ####p < 0.0001., and one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. ***p < 0.001. ****p < 0.0001. n indicates individual cells, N indicates individual biological replicates.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 3 The neuroinflammatory microglial response is dependent on STING activity. a Schematic diagram of mouse primary microglial treatment and cGAS-STING pathway effector responses. b Representative immunoblots showing the phosphorylation of cGAS, STING, iNOS, ISG15, and STAT1 in Aβ- and tau-treated microglia. H: H-151. c Quantification of total protein and phosphorylation levels. N = 7 for ISG15, N = 10 for the other proteins. d Representative immunoblots showing changes in iNOS levels in Aβ-exposed microglia pretreated with a STING agonist or antagonist. e Quantification of iNOS protein levels. cG: cGAMP, H: H-151, SN: SN-011. N = 4 for each group. f Representative mature IL-1β blot indicating NLRP3 activation. g Quantification of mature IL-1β in microglia-conditioned media by blot analysis. N = 6,6,6,5,4. h Representative immunoblots of cGAS-STING pathway proteins in primary microglia cotreated with cGAMP and bafilomycin A1 (BafA). i Quantification of protein levels in Fig. 3h. Baf: bafilomycin A1. N = 4 for each group. In (c), (e), (g), and (i), the data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined by Student’s t-test, #p < 0.05. ##p < 0.01. ###p < 0.001, one-way or two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. ***p < 0.001. ****p < 0.0001. N indicates individual biological replicates.
Fig. 3 The neuroinflammatory microglial response is dependent on STING activity. a Schematic diagram of mouse primary microglial treatment and cGAS-STING pathway effector responses. b Representative immunoblots showing the phosphorylation of cGAS, STING, iNOS, ISG15, and STAT1 in Aβ- and tau-treated microglia. H: H-151. c Quantification of total protein and phosphorylation levels. N = 7 for ISG15, N = 10 for the other proteins. d Representative immunoblots showing changes in iNOS levels in Aβ-exposed microglia pretreated with a STING agonist or antagonist. e Quantification of iNOS protein levels. cG: cGAMP, H: H-151, SN: SN-011. N = 4 for each group. f Representative mature IL-1β blot indicating NLRP3 activation. g Quantification of mature IL-1β in microglia-conditioned media by blot analysis. N = 6,6,6,5,4. h Representative immunoblots of cGAS-STING pathway proteins in primary microglia cotreated with cGAMP and bafilomycin A1 (BafA). i Quantification of protein levels in Fig. 3h. Baf: bafilomycin A1. N = 4 for each group. In (c), (e), (g), and (i), the data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined by Student’s t-test, #p < 0.05. ##p < 0.01. ###p < 0.001, one-way or two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. ***p < 0.001. ****p < 0.0001. N indicates individual biological replicates.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 4 Neuronal STING is upregulated in the brains of AD model mice, and cGAMP can upregulate neuronal IFITM3. a Representative images of STING, Iba1, and MAP2 immunostaining in the hippocampal CA1 region of AppNL-G-F/hTau-dKI mice. Scale bars, 50 μm. b Quantification of STING fluorescence intensity within MAP2- and Iba1-positive regions. c Representative immunostaining image of IFITM3 and the presynaptic marker Synaptophysin in the dKI brain CA3 region. d Representative immunoblots of the interferon-stimulatory proteins IFITM3 and MX1 in primary neurons after 24 h of cGAMP stimulation. e Quantification of neuronal IFITM3 and MX1 induction by cGAMP. N = 4 for each group. f Representative IFITM3 immunostaining in the brains of 12-month-old WT and dKI mice. The arrow indicates the CA3 mossy fiber neuronal region. Scale bars, 100 μm, 50 μm. g Quantification of the IFITM3 staining signal. N = 10,10.(b), (e), (g) Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined by Student’s t-test and one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. N indicates individual mice for (b) and (g) and biological replicates for (e).
Fig. 4 Neuronal STING is upregulated in the brains of AD model mice, and cGAMP can upregulate neuronal IFITM3. a Representative images of STING, Iba1, and MAP2 immunostaining in the hippocampal CA1 region of AppNL-G-F/hTau-dKI mice. Scale bars, 50 μm. b Quantification of STING fluorescence intensity within MAP2- and Iba1-positive regions. c Representative immunostaining image of IFITM3 and the presynaptic marker Synaptophysin in the dKI brain CA3 region. d Representative immunoblots of the interferon-stimulatory proteins IFITM3 and MX1 in primary neurons after 24 h of cGAMP stimulation. e Quantification of neuronal IFITM3 and MX1 induction by cGAMP. N = 4 for each group. f Representative IFITM3 immunostaining in the brains of 12-month-old WT and dKI mice. The arrow indicates the CA3 mossy fiber neuronal region. Scale bars, 100 μm, 50 μm. g Quantification of the IFITM3 staining signal. N = 10,10.(b), (e), (g) Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined by Student’s t-test and one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. N indicates individual mice for (b) and (g) and biological replicates for (e).CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 5 STING inhibition mitigated brain inflammation in AppNL-G-F/hTau-dKI mice. a Scheme for the study design of pharmacological STING inhibition in dKI mice. b Representative Iba1 and GFAP immunostaining images showing alterations in microgliosis and astrogliosis. Scale bars, 50 μm. c Quantification of the Iba1+ and GFAP+ areas in the brains of dKI mice. n = 5 for each group. d Volcano plot of DEGs between brain-isolated microglia from DMSO- and H-151-injected dKI mice. N = 3,3. e DEGs between microglia from DMSO- and H-151-injected WT mice. Pastel red and blue dots represent genes with a log2FC > |0.8| and a p-value < 0.05, respectively. Selected genes are further highlighted, and other genes are presented as gray dots. N = 3,3. f Highlighted Gene Ontology (GO) terms of 166 STING-dependent DEGs in dKI mice. g Representative GSEA enrichment plots of STING-dependent DEGs in dKI mice. h Venn diagram of the shared upregulated and downregulated microglial DEGs after STING inhibition. i Cerebral brain bulk tissue gene expression in DMSO- and H-151-treated WT and dKI mice. N = 5,5,3.In c statistical significance was determined by two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. **p < 0.01. ****p < 0.0001. In (i), statistical significance was determined by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. ***p < 0.001. ****p < 0.0001. N indicates individual mice.
Fig. 5 STING inhibition mitigated brain inflammation in AppNL-G-F/hTau-dKI mice. a Scheme for the study design of pharmacological STING inhibition in dKI mice. b Representative Iba1 and GFAP immunostaining images showing alterations in microgliosis and astrogliosis. Scale bars, 50 μm. c Quantification of the Iba1+ and GFAP+ areas in the brains of dKI mice. n = 5 for each group. d Volcano plot of DEGs between brain-isolated microglia from DMSO- and H-151-injected dKI mice. N = 3,3. e DEGs between microglia from DMSO- and H-151-injected WT mice. Pastel red and blue dots represent genes with a log2FC > |0.8| and a p-value < 0.05, respectively. Selected genes are further highlighted, and other genes are presented as gray dots. N = 3,3. f Highlighted Gene Ontology (GO) terms of 166 STING-dependent DEGs in dKI mice. g Representative GSEA enrichment plots of STING-dependent DEGs in dKI mice. h Venn diagram of the shared upregulated and downregulated microglial DEGs after STING inhibition. i Cerebral brain bulk tissue gene expression in DMSO- and H-151-treated WT and dKI mice. N = 5,5,3.In c statistical significance was determined by two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. **p < 0.01. ****p < 0.0001. In (i), statistical significance was determined by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. ***p < 0.001. ****p < 0.0001. N indicates individual mice.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 6 Pharmacological STING inhibition protected cognitive function and reduced Aβ and tau pathologies in AppNL-G-F/hTau-dKI mice. a Percentages of spontaneous alternations and numbers of arm entries of DMSO-, H-151-injected WT and dKI mice in the Y-maze test. n = 13 for each group. b Novel object recognition test results for DMSO- and H-151-injected littermates and dKI mice. n = 13 for each group. c Representative immunostaining images of Aβ in the brains of DMSO- or H-151-treated dKI mice. The dashed line indicates the subregion used for quantification. Scale bar, 200 μm. d Quantification of Aβ-positive area proportions in brain subregions of DMSO-treated and H-151-treated dKI mice. N = 5,5. e The Aβ fractionation and ELISA quantification results for TBS-soluble, GuHCl-soluble Aβ40, and Aβ42 levels in whole cerebral brain tissue. N = 5,5. f Representative immunoblots of total tau, p-tau, PSD95, and NLRP3 proteins in cerebral brain tissue from DMSO- and H-151-treated dKI mice. g Quantification of total human tau (tau13) and tau phosphorylation at the pT181, AT8, pS356, pS396, and pS422 epitopes. n = 5 for each group. h Quantification of PSD95 and NLRP3 expression. N = 5,5. i Scatter plots for p-tau epitopes and PSD95 correlation. N = 5,5. In (a) and (b), the data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined by two-way ANOVA. ***p < 0.001. ****p < 0.0001. In (d), (e), (g), and (h), the data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined by two-tailed Student’s t-test. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. ***p < 0.001. In (i), the data are presented as the normalized ratio. Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) was used to present correlation strength, and statistical significance was determined by two-tailed Student’s t-test. *p < 0.05. N indicates an individual mouse.
Fig. 6 Pharmacological STING inhibition protected cognitive function and reduced Aβ and tau pathologies in AppNL-G-F/hTau-dKI mice. a Percentages of spontaneous alternations and numbers of arm entries of DMSO-, H-151-injected WT and dKI mice in the Y-maze test. n = 13 for each group. b Novel object recognition test results for DMSO- and H-151-injected littermates and dKI mice. n = 13 for each group. c Representative immunostaining images of Aβ in the brains of DMSO- or H-151-treated dKI mice. The dashed line indicates the subregion used for quantification. Scale bar, 200 μm. d Quantification of Aβ-positive area proportions in brain subregions of DMSO-treated and H-151-treated dKI mice. N = 5,5. e The Aβ fractionation and ELISA quantification results for TBS-soluble, GuHCl-soluble Aβ40, and Aβ42 levels in whole cerebral brain tissue. N = 5,5. f Representative immunoblots of total tau, p-tau, PSD95, and NLRP3 proteins in cerebral brain tissue from DMSO- and H-151-treated dKI mice. g Quantification of total human tau (tau13) and tau phosphorylation at the pT181, AT8, pS356, pS396, and pS422 epitopes. n = 5 for each group. h Quantification of PSD95 and NLRP3 expression. N = 5,5. i Scatter plots for p-tau epitopes and PSD95 correlation. N = 5,5. In (a) and (b), the data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined by two-way ANOVA. ***p < 0.001. ****p < 0.0001. In (d), (e), (g), and (h), the data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined by two-tailed Student’s t-test. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. ***p < 0.001. In (i), the data are presented as the normalized ratio. Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) was used to present correlation strength, and statistical significance was determined by two-tailed Student’s t-test. *p < 0.05. N indicates an individual mouse.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 7 Pharmacological STING inhibition reduced microglial p-STAT1 levels and synapse engulfment. a Representative images of PSD95, CD68 and Iba1 immunostaining in the hippocampal regions of WT and dKI mice. Scale bars, 20 μm. b Representative images of p-STAT1 and Iba1 immunostaining for microglial p-STAT1. c Quantification of the p-STAT1 signal area within Iba1. N = 5 for each group. d Representative immunostaining and 3D-reconstructed images of PSD95, CD68, and Iba1 in the hippocampal CA1 region. Scale bars, 5 μm. e Region of interest and quantification results of microglia-engulfed PSD-95 volumes in the hippocampal CA1 region. n = 9, 10, N = 5,5.All the data are presented as mean ± SEM. In (c), statistical significance was determined by two-way ANOVA. *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001. ****p < 0.0001. In (e), statistical significance was determined by two-tailed Student’s t test. **p < 0.01. n indicates biological replicates. N indicates an individual mouse.
Fig. 7 Pharmacological STING inhibition reduced microglial p-STAT1 levels and synapse engulfment. a Representative images of PSD95, CD68 and Iba1 immunostaining in the hippocampal regions of WT and dKI mice. Scale bars, 20 μm. b Representative images of p-STAT1 and Iba1 immunostaining for microglial p-STAT1. c Quantification of the p-STAT1 signal area within Iba1. N = 5 for each group. d Representative immunostaining and 3D-reconstructed images of PSD95, CD68, and Iba1 in the hippocampal CA1 region. Scale bars, 5 μm. e Region of interest and quantification results of microglia-engulfed PSD-95 volumes in the hippocampal CA1 region. n = 9, 10, N = 5,5.All the data are presented as mean ± SEM. In (c), statistical significance was determined by two-way ANOVA. *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001. ****p < 0.0001. In (e), statistical significance was determined by two-tailed Student’s t test. **p < 0.01. n indicates biological replicates. N indicates an individual mouse.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 8 Graphical summary of the study. a Aβ, tau, and the APOE ε4 allele affect the cGAS-STING pathway in microglia. Aβ and tau increase cytoplasmic DNA accumulation and upregulate cGAS. cGAMP produced from cGAS diffuses and activates STING in surrounding brain tissue. Activated STING triggers an inflammatory response followed by an interferon response through downstream TBK1, NF-κB, IRF3, and p-STAT1 effectors. Pharmacological STING inhibition ameliorates a broad range of AD pathologies, including neuroinflammation, Aβ burden, phospho-tau levels, microglial synapse engulfment, and memory impairment.
Fig. 8 Graphical summary of the study. a Aβ, tau, and the APOE ε4 allele affect the cGAS-STING pathway in microglia. Aβ and tau increase cytoplasmic DNA accumulation and upregulate cGAS. cGAMP produced from cGAS diffuses and activates STING in surrounding brain tissue. Activated STING triggers an inflammatory response followed by an interferon response through downstream TBK1, NF-κB, IRF3, and p-STAT1 effectors. Pharmacological STING inhibition ameliorates a broad range of AD pathologies, including neuroinflammation, Aβ burden, phospho-tau levels, microglial synapse engulfment, and memory impairment.CC BY · PubMed Central

Verification

Claims the paper makes

101 Own result · 17 Own interpretation · 6 No basis given · 2 Supported · 1 Supported so far · 1 No full text of the sources

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  • It may state two separate claims as one. 41
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 5
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  • The paper relies on this without support.

    APOE ε4 is the single strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset AD.

    “the APOE ε4 allele, the single strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset AD (LOAD)”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Abnormal immune activation is a consistent feature of neurodegenerative diseases, including AD.

    “Abnormal immune activation is a consistent feature of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The cGAS-STING pathway is a common denominator among diverse AD-associated factors.

    “In searching for a common denominator among these diverse factors, we focused on the immune response against ectopic DNA and specifically the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Hyperphosphorylated tau, rather than normal tau, contributes to synaptic dysfunction and loss.

    “hyperphosphorylated tau, rather than normal tau, contributes to synaptic dysfunction and loss.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Aβ-induced tau hyperphosphorylation is closely associated with synapse loss and memory impairment in AD.

    “Aβ-induced tau hyperphosphorylation is closely associated with synapse loss and memory impairment in AD”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Both amyloid and tau are key players in AD pathogenesis, and their interaction results in different outcomes than those induced by each factor individually.

    “Both amyloid and tau are key players in AD pathogenesis, and their interaction results in different outcomes than those induced by each factor individually.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Pharmacological targeting or genetic ablation of cGAS and STING tends to be protective in diverse neural disorders.

    “Pharmacological targeting or genetic ablation of cGAS and STING tends to be protective in diverse neural disorders.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Maturation of IL-1β is dependent on NLRP3 activation.

    “The maturation of IL-1β is dependent on NLRP3 activation”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    STING activation leads to NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

    “STING activation leads to NLRP3 inflammasome activation.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Aβ can activate TLR4, which is located upstream of TBK1 and p65, causing excessive phosphorylation.

    “Aβ can activate TLR4, which is located upstream of TBK1 and p65, causing excessive phosphorylation.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Chemokines such as CXCL10, which attracts infiltrating T cells, are known downstream effectors of STING.

    “chemokines such as CXCL10, which attracts infiltrating T cells, are known downstream effectors of STING.”
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Metadata

Authors
Chung, S., Jeong, J.-H., Park, J.-C., Han, J. W., Lee, Y., Kim, J.-I., & Mook-Jung, I.
Affiliations
  • Seoul National University (KR)
  • Sungkyunkwan University (KR)
Venue
Experimental & Molecular Medicine
Published
2024-09-02
Volume
56
Issue
9
Pages
1936-1951
ISSN
  • 1226-3613 (ISSN-L)
  • 2092-6413
OpenAlex
W4402143990
Cited by
103
References
65
Citations by year
2026: 64 · 2025: 39
FWCI
13.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Experimental & Molecular Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Seoul National University Open Repository (Seoul National University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Research Foundation
  • Seoul National University
  • Ministry of Education (2020R1A6A3A13070845)
  • Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (HU23C1234)
  • Ministry of Health and Welfare (HU23C1234)
  • Korea Basic Science Institute (2021R1A6C101A445)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea
  • Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea (RS‐2020‐KH106747)
  • RIKEN
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, STING, cGAS-STING pathway, microglial dysfunction, sterile inflammation, amyloid-beta, tau phosphorylation, mitochondrial stress, APOE ε4, NLRP3 inflammasome, type I interferon, gliosis, synapse engulfment, memory loss, STING inhibition, therapeutic target
MeSH terms
STING Protein, Alzheimer Disease, Animals, Disease Models, Animal, Humans, Membrane Proteins, Mice, Transgenic, Nucleotidyltransferases, Signal Transduction, Amyloid beta-Peptides, Microglia, Mice

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-19, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).

A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-19 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).

Cited sources are checked with a language model’s help (gpt-6-sol).

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

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