Supremely excited to share our new paper in @natcellbio.nature.com
With an updated genetic cGAMP reporter, we reveal that cGAS activation by DNA damage is a rare event, and that cGAS enrichment on intracellular structures cannot be taken as evidence of activation.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
With an updated genetic cGAMP reporter, we reveal that cGAS activation by DNA damage is a rare event, and that cGAS enrichment on intracellular structures cannot be taken as evidence of activation.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A versatile cGAMP reporter reveals principles of cGAS activation by DNA damage and chromosome instability - Nature Cell Biology
Lebrec et al. present a FRET-based cGAS reporter and show that cGAS activation by genotoxic stress is rare and uncoupled from micronuclei. The study implicates R-loop structures and subtypes of chroma...
www.nature.com
August 21, 2026 at 10:26 AM
Supremely excited to share our new paper in @natcellbio.nature.com
With an updated genetic cGAMP reporter, we reveal that cGAS activation by DNA damage is a rare event, and that cGAS enrichment on intracellular structures cannot be taken as evidence of activation.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
With an updated genetic cGAMP reporter, we reveal that cGAS activation by DNA damage is a rare event, and that cGAS enrichment on intracellular structures cannot be taken as evidence of activation.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thrilled to share our latest @cp-cell.bsky.social.
We present VICAR (VIral-induced Centromeric DNA Amplification and Recognition), a new defense system to detect viruses in the nucleus based on nuclear cGAS.
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
We present VICAR (VIral-induced Centromeric DNA Amplification and Recognition), a new defense system to detect viruses in the nucleus based on nuclear cGAS.
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Centromeric DNA amplification triggered by viral proteins activates nuclear cGAS
Herpesvirus proteins disrupt centromeres, triggering centromeric DNA amplification
and local nuclear activation of the nucleic acid sensor cGAS. This reveals an immune
surveillance mechanism in the nu...
www.cell.com
June 2, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Thrilled to share our latest @cp-cell.bsky.social.
We present VICAR (VIral-induced Centromeric DNA Amplification and Recognition), a new defense system to detect viruses in the nucleus based on nuclear cGAS.
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
We present VICAR (VIral-induced Centromeric DNA Amplification and Recognition), a new defense system to detect viruses in the nucleus based on nuclear cGAS.
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Why does the naked mole rat have the longest lifespan of any rodent, nearly 40 years?
A 30-year long mystery unraveled @ScienceMagazine today!
Its cGAS enzyme in cells has 4 missense mutations that upends its function, promoting DNA repair and suppressing inflammation
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A 30-year long mystery unraveled @ScienceMagazine today!
Its cGAS enzyme in cells has 4 missense mutations that upends its function, promoting DNA repair and suppressing inflammation
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
October 9, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Why does the naked mole rat have the longest lifespan of any rodent, nearly 40 years?
A 30-year long mystery unraveled @ScienceMagazine today!
Its cGAS enzyme in cells has 4 missense mutations that upends its function, promoting DNA repair and suppressing inflammation
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A 30-year long mystery unraveled @ScienceMagazine today!
Its cGAS enzyme in cells has 4 missense mutations that upends its function, promoting DNA repair and suppressing inflammation
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
I wouldn't have anticipated a Lupus self-directed antibody (4H2) might someday turn out to be an anti-cancer treatment
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A lupus-derived autoantibody that binds to intracellular RNA activates cGAS-mediated tumor immunity and can deliver RNA into cells
Delivery of autoimmune disease–associated antibodies activates the immune system to fight glioblastomas.
www.science.org
March 25, 2025 at 6:37 PM
I wouldn't have anticipated a Lupus self-directed antibody (4H2) might someday turn out to be an anti-cancer treatment
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Wait till you see CGAS
(Chewing gum as a service)
(Chewing gum as a service)
September 25, 2026 at 12:36 AM
Wait till you see CGAS
(Chewing gum as a service)
(Chewing gum as a service)
‘The cGAS-STING pathway activates transcription factor TFEB to stimulate lysosome biogenesis and pathogen clearance’
www.cell.com/immunity/abs...
www.cell.com/immunity/abs...
The cGAS-STING pathway activates transcription factor TFEB to stimulate lysosome biogenesis and pathogen clearance
The cGAS-STING pathway induces autophagy to deliver cytoplasmic DNA and invading pathogens
to lysosomes for elimination. However, whether lysosome function is regulated by the
cGAS-STING pathway remai...
www.cell.com
February 17, 2025 at 7:52 AM
‘The cGAS-STING pathway activates transcription factor TFEB to stimulate lysosome biogenesis and pathogen clearance’
www.cell.com/immunity/abs...
www.cell.com/immunity/abs...
#LocationLocationLocation! #NewVirusSensingModality! Lahaye, @manellab.bsky.social &co show @cp-cell.bsky.social that nuclear cGAS senses viruses by recognizing centromeric DNA amplification caused by viral effectors that degrade centromere proteins! www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Centromeric DNA amplification triggered by viral proteins activates nuclear cGAS
Herpesvirus proteins disrupt centromeres, triggering centromeric DNA amplification
and local nuclear activation of the nucleic acid sensor cGAS. This reveals an immune
surveillance mechanism in the nu...
www.cell.com
June 3, 2025 at 11:26 AM
#LocationLocationLocation! #NewVirusSensingModality! Lahaye, @manellab.bsky.social &co show @cp-cell.bsky.social that nuclear cGAS senses viruses by recognizing centromeric DNA amplification caused by viral effectors that degrade centromere proteins! www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Activation and regulation of cGAS-STING signaling in cancer cells: Molecular Cell www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Activation and regulation of cGAS-STING signaling in cancer cells
Cancer-intrinsic genomic instability drives cytosolic DNA accumulation, triggering
cGAS-STING immune signaling. Shim et al. review recent advances in cancer/cGAS-STING
crosstalk, with a molecular-leve...
www.cell.com
October 30, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Activation and regulation of cGAS-STING signaling in cancer cells: Molecular Cell www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
The cGAS-STING pathway activates transcription factor TFEB to stimulate lysosome biogenesis and pathogen clearance
www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
@cp-immunity.bsky.social
www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
@cp-immunity.bsky.social
December 16, 2024 at 9:35 PM
The cGAS-STING pathway activates transcription factor TFEB to stimulate lysosome biogenesis and pathogen clearance
www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
@cp-immunity.bsky.social
www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
@cp-immunity.bsky.social
Our study is out today in @NatureNeuro! We show that stressed neurons release DNA, activating cGAS–type I interferon signaling and driving inflammation, seizures and mortality in Dravet syndrome. Blocking cGAS disrupts this immune cascade and improves outcomes. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
cGAS-mediated type I IFN signaling contributes to disease progression in drug-refractory epilepsy - Nature Neuroscience
Huang et al. found that stressed neurons release DNA that activates the immune sensor cGAS, driving inflammatory responses that worsen seizures and mortality in Dravet syndrome. Blocking cGAS interrup...
www.nature.com
July 30, 2026 at 2:44 AM
Our study is out today in @NatureNeuro! We show that stressed neurons release DNA, activating cGAS–type I interferon signaling and driving inflammation, seizures and mortality in Dravet syndrome. Blocking cGAS disrupts this immune cascade and improves outcomes. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A cGAS-mediated mechanism in naked mole-rats potentiates DNA repair and delays aging
Naked mole rats get much older than closely related mamals of a similar size. cGAS mutations may have an important role in this.
www.science.org/doi/...
1/9
Naked mole rats get much older than closely related mamals of a similar size. cGAS mutations may have an important role in this.
www.science.org/doi/...
1/9
A cGAS-mediated mechanism in naked mole-rats potentiates DNA repair and delays aging
Efficient DNA repair might make possible the longevity of naked mole-rats. However, whether they have distinctive mechanisms to optimize functions of DNA repair suppressors is unclear. We find that naked mole-rat cyclic guanosine monophosphate–adenosine ...
www.science.org
October 9, 2025 at 9:31 PM
A cGAS-mediated mechanism in naked mole-rats potentiates DNA repair and delays aging
Naked mole rats get much older than closely related mamals of a similar size. cGAS mutations may have an important role in this.
www.science.org/doi/...
1/9
Naked mole rats get much older than closely related mamals of a similar size. cGAS mutations may have an important role in this.
www.science.org/doi/...
1/9
☕Lebrec, @zierlab.bsky.social & co present a FRET-based cGAS reporter and show that cGAS activation by genotoxic stress is rare and uncoupled from micronuclei. The study implicates R-loop structures and subtypes of chromatin bridges as potential cGAS activators.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A versatile cGAMP reporter reveals principles of cGAS activation by DNA damage and chromosome instability - Nature Cell Biology
Lebrec et al. present a FRET-based cGAS reporter and show that cGAS activation by genotoxic stress is rare and uncoupled from micronuclei. The study implicates R-loop structures and subtypes of chroma...
www.nature.com
August 26, 2026 at 7:46 AM
☕Lebrec, @zierlab.bsky.social & co present a FRET-based cGAS reporter and show that cGAS activation by genotoxic stress is rare and uncoupled from micronuclei. The study implicates R-loop structures and subtypes of chromatin bridges as potential cGAS activators.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
All the leading medical organisations say the best advice is to support trans people… and yet, people that agreed with this advice also scored high on the short version of a provisional scale with a scary name. Therefore, this suggests medical ‘guidance encodes ideology’.
Notice the switch?
Notice the switch?
August 30, 2026 at 4:49 PM
All the leading medical organisations say the best advice is to support trans people… and yet, people that agreed with this advice also scored high on the short version of a provisional scale with a scary name. Therefore, this suggests medical ‘guidance encodes ideology’.
Notice the switch?
Notice the switch?
#InterferonFriendOrFoe?! Klein @kahlenberglab.bsky.social &co show Science Immunology that UV drives mitochondrial Z-DNA to induce type I & III IFNs in keratinocytes. IFN-I upregulates ZBP1 that binds Z-DNA activating cGAS-STING to boost IFNs, photosensitivity & inflammation in #Lupus skin!
Epidermal ZBP1 stabilizes mitochondrial Z-DNA to drive UV-induced IFN signaling in autoimmune photosensitivity
ZBP1 and mitochondrial Z-DNA drive autoimmune photosensitivity via cGAS-STING activation.
www.science.org
March 7, 2025 at 10:32 PM
#InterferonFriendOrFoe?! Klein @kahlenberglab.bsky.social &co show Science Immunology that UV drives mitochondrial Z-DNA to induce type I & III IFNs in keratinocytes. IFN-I upregulates ZBP1 that binds Z-DNA activating cGAS-STING to boost IFNs, photosensitivity & inflammation in #Lupus skin!
Microglial cGAS-STING-TBK1 activation in paraventricular thalamus mediates sleep and emotional disturbances in lupus mice www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
July 5, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Microglial cGAS-STING-TBK1 activation in paraventricular thalamus mediates sleep and emotional disturbances in lupus mice www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
This is interesting. Herpes simplex 1 (the one that causes cold sores) could be behind the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Anti-herpetic tau preserves neurons via the cGAS-STING-TBK1 pathway in Alzheimer’s disease
Hyde et al. found elevated HSV-1 protein expression in Alzheimer’s disease, with phosphorylated tau strongly colocalizing with HSV-1 proteins. They demonstrated that tau phosphorylation responds to HSV-1 via the innate immune cGAS-STING pathway, reducing HSV-1 protein expression and increasing neuronal viability, highlighting a role for tau phosphorylation in innate immunity.
www.cell.com
January 5, 2025 at 9:03 PM
This is interesting. Herpes simplex 1 (the one that causes cold sores) could be behind the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
#WeekendRead! #EveryCellisAnImmuneCell! Park, Ahn & Barber show @sciimmunology.bsky.social that DNA-damaged cells activate cGAS-STING secreting factors & induce endosomal vesicles that activate in antigen-presenting cells cGAS-STING inducing immune activation! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Antigen-presenting cell activation requires intrinsic and extrinsic STING signaling after the phagocytosis of DNA-damaged cells
Both cytosolic DNA species and innate immune STING signaling are required for stressed cells to activate phagocytes.
www.science.org
December 22, 2024 at 4:27 PM
#WeekendRead! #EveryCellisAnImmuneCell! Park, Ahn & Barber show @sciimmunology.bsky.social that DNA-damaged cells activate cGAS-STING secreting factors & induce endosomal vesicles that activate in antigen-presenting cells cGAS-STING inducing immune activation! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🚨Our new paper is out!🚨 We uncover a protective mechanism of the rare APOE3 Christchurch (R136S) mutation against tauopathy—by suppressing microglial cGAS–STING–interferon (IFN) pathway, a key inflammatory axis triggered by tau. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The R136S mutation in the APOE3 gene confers resilience against tau pathology via inhibition of the cGAS-STING-IFN pathway
The Christchurch mutation (R136S) in the APOE3 (E3S/S) gene is associated with attenuated tau load and cognitive decline despite the presence of a cau…
www.sciencedirect.com
June 24, 2025 at 12:58 PM
🚨Our new paper is out!🚨 We uncover a protective mechanism of the rare APOE3 Christchurch (R136S) mutation against tauopathy—by suppressing microglial cGAS–STING–interferon (IFN) pathway, a key inflammatory axis triggered by tau. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
2024 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award winner Zhijian Chen describes his discovery of cyclic guanosine monophosphate–adenosine monophosphate synthase (cGAS), a DNA-sensing enzyme that triggers inflammation.
https://ja.ma/4ibukUD
https://ja.ma/4ibukUD
November 30, 2024 at 1:00 PM
2024 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award winner Zhijian Chen describes his discovery of cyclic guanosine monophosphate–adenosine monophosphate synthase (cGAS), a DNA-sensing enzyme that triggers inflammation.
https://ja.ma/4ibukUD
https://ja.ma/4ibukUD
This is so cool! Four amino acid changes in the naked mole rat cGAS turn it from a DNA repair inhibitor into an enhancer
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
What is going on in armadillos, which have lost the cGAS and STING genes‽ #PetosParadox #EvMed 🧪
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40463121/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
What is going on in armadillos, which have lost the cGAS and STING genes‽ #PetosParadox #EvMed 🧪
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40463121/
A cGAS-mediated mechanism in naked mole-rats potentiates DNA repair and delays aging
Efficient DNA repair might make possible the longevity of naked mole-rats. However, whether they have distinctive mechanisms to optimize functions of DNA repair suppressors is unclear. We find that na...
www.science.org
October 10, 2025 at 3:36 PM
This is so cool! Four amino acid changes in the naked mole rat cGAS turn it from a DNA repair inhibitor into an enhancer
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
What is going on in armadillos, which have lost the cGAS and STING genes‽ #PetosParadox #EvMed 🧪
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40463121/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
What is going on in armadillos, which have lost the cGAS and STING genes‽ #PetosParadox #EvMed 🧪
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40463121/
☕Song et al. report that ATM maintains replication fork speed by counteracting chromatin-bound cGAS-induced fork slowing. They show that ATM and ATR phosphorylate MRE11 to release cGAS from chromatin in a process dependent on MRE11 nuclease activity.
👉https://rdcu.be/fkC8i
bit.ly/4x6ZtjN
👉https://rdcu.be/fkC8i
bit.ly/4x6ZtjN
ATM counteracts chromatin-bound cGAS during DNA replication - Nature Cell Biology
Song et al. report that ATM maintains replication fork speed by counteracting chromatin-bound cGAS-induced fork slowing. They show that ATM and ATR phosphorylate MRE11 to release cGAS from chromatin i...
bit.ly
May 25, 2026 at 1:53 PM
☕Song et al. report that ATM maintains replication fork speed by counteracting chromatin-bound cGAS-induced fork slowing. They show that ATM and ATR phosphorylate MRE11 to release cGAS from chromatin in a process dependent on MRE11 nuclease activity.
👉https://rdcu.be/fkC8i
bit.ly/4x6ZtjN
👉https://rdcu.be/fkC8i
bit.ly/4x6ZtjN
After >10 years of our lab studying bacterial cGAS-like enzymes, @hobbslabutah.bsky.social finally reconstitutes viral sensing in vitro and discovers how these ancient receptors sense phage protease enzymes to detect virion assembly and activate antiviral immunity
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
March 6, 2026 at 9:01 AM
After >10 years of our lab studying bacterial cGAS-like enzymes, @hobbslabutah.bsky.social finally reconstitutes viral sensing in vitro and discovers how these ancient receptors sense phage protease enzymes to detect virion assembly and activate antiviral immunity
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Our paper was offered the cover of The EMBO Journal. 😀
We discovered that activation of cGAS-STING causes aging in response to very short telomeres. Zebrafish deficient in telomerase and sting, reverse premature death, reduced fertility, frailty and cancer.
👉 tinyurl.com/nhd4bfb9
We discovered that activation of cGAS-STING causes aging in response to very short telomeres. Zebrafish deficient in telomerase and sting, reverse premature death, reduced fertility, frailty and cancer.
👉 tinyurl.com/nhd4bfb9
cGAS-STING are responsible for premature aging of telomerase-deficient zebrafish | The EMBO Journal
imageimageTelomere erosion is a hallmark of aging, yet its downstream mechanisms and impact on organismal aging remain unclear. This study shows that cGAS-STING inflammatory signaling drives premature aging in response to telomere shortening in ...
www.embopress.org
September 1, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Our paper was offered the cover of The EMBO Journal. 😀
We discovered that activation of cGAS-STING causes aging in response to very short telomeres. Zebrafish deficient in telomerase and sting, reverse premature death, reduced fertility, frailty and cancer.
👉 tinyurl.com/nhd4bfb9
We discovered that activation of cGAS-STING causes aging in response to very short telomeres. Zebrafish deficient in telomerase and sting, reverse premature death, reduced fertility, frailty and cancer.
👉 tinyurl.com/nhd4bfb9