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Structures of STING protein illuminate this key regulator of inflammation

The STING protein aids intracellular defences by triggering inflammation. Studies that uncover how STING is activated might lead to strategies for targeting this protein in the treatment of cancer or autoimmune diseases.
  1. Andrea Ablasser

    1. Andrea Ablasser is at the Global Health Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland.

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The branch of the immune system called innate immunity has a pivotal role in host defence by recognizing general hallmarks of disease-causing agents. The intracellular protein STING, a transmembrane protein usually located on an organelle called the endoplasmic reticulum, is a key regulator of this type of immune response1. Writing in Nature, Shang et al.2 and Zhang et al.3 report full-length structures of STING, including STING in complex with the kinase protein TBK1, which initiates the downstream signalling pathway that is triggered on STING activation.

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Nature 567, 321-322 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-00707-8

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