Abstract
Cytosolic detection of pathogen-derived nucleic acids is critical for the initiation of innate immune defense against diverse bacterial, viral and eukaryotic pathogens. Conversely, inappropriate responses to cytosolic nucleic acids can produce severe autoimmune pathology. The host protein STING has been identified as a central signaling molecule in the innate immune response to cytosolic nucleic acids. STING seems to be especially critical for responses to cytosolic DNA and the unique bacterial nucleic acids called 'cyclic dinucleotides'. Here we discuss advances in the understanding of STING and highlight the many unresolved issues in the field.
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Acknowledgements
We thank our colleagues in the field of STING biology and members of the Vance and Barton laboratories for discussions. Supported by the US National Institutes of Health (AI091100 to D.L.B., and AI063302, AI075039 and AI082357 to R.E.V.) and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (R.E.V.).
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Burdette, D., Vance, R. STING and the innate immune response to nucleic acids in the cytosol. Nat Immunol 14, 19–26 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2491
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2491
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