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Newly made mitochondrial DNA drives inflammation

Activation of the inflammasome protein complex in immune cells is a key step that triggers an innate immune response. It emerges that the synthesis and oxidation of mitochondrial DNA drives this activation step.
  1. Michael P. Murphy

    1. Michael P. Murphy is at the Medical Research Council Mitochondrial Biology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0XY, UK.

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The innate immune response mounts a defence when immune cells recognize general hallmarks of infection, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) molecules, which are present in many types of bacterium. However, the inappropriate unleashing of an innate immune response can lead to autoimmune disorders. Gaining a better understanding of how innate immune responses are regulated might lead to improvements in clinical treatments for such disorders. Writing in Nature, Zhong et al.1 report that DNA synthesis in organelles called mitochondria has a key role in triggering an innate immune response.

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Nature 560, 176-177 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05764-z

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