Research advances in cGAS-stimulator of interferon genes pathway and central nervous system diseases: Focus on new therapeutic approaches

Jiao Ding; Yijie Dai; Jiahui Zhu; Xuemei Fan; Hao Zhang; Bo Tang

doi:10.3389/fnmol.2022.1050837

Research advances in cGAS-stimulator of interferon genes pathway and central nervous system diseases: Focus on new therapeutic approaches

Front Mol Neurosci. 2022 Dec 22:15:1050837. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.1050837. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jiao Ding¹, Yijie Dai¹, Jiahui Zhu², Xuemei Fan², Hao Zhang², Bo Tang²

Affiliations

¹ The Fourth School of Clinical Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
² Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.

Abstract

Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS), a crucial innate immune sensor, recognizes cytosolic DNA and induces stimulator of interferon genes (STING) to produce type I interferon and other proinflammatory cytokines, thereby mediating innate immune signaling. The cGAS-STING pathway is involved in the regulation of infectious diseases, anti-tumor immunity, and autoimmune diseases; in addition, it plays a key role in the development of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Therapeutics targeting the modulation of cGAS-STING have promising clinical applications. Here, we summarize the cGAS-STING signaling mechanism and the recent research on its role in CNS diseases.

Keywords: STING; autophagy; cGAMP; cGAS; innate immune system; neurodegeneration; neuroinflammation.

Publication types

Review