Project description:Chronic stimulation of innate immune pathways by microbial agents or damaged tissue is known to promote inflammation-driven tumorigenesis by unclarified mechanisms1-3. Here we demonstrate that mutagenic 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA), etoposide or cisplatin induces nuclear DNA leakage into the cytosol to intrinsically activate STING (Stimulator of Interferon Genes) dependent cytokine production. Inflammatory cytokine levels were subsequently augmented in a STING-dependent extrinsic manner by infiltrating phagocytes purging dying cells. Consequently, STING-/- mice, or wild type mice adoptively transferred with STING-/- bone marrow, were almost completely resistant to DMBA-induced skin carcinogenesis compared to their wild type counterparts. Our data emphasizes, for the first time, a role for STING in the induction of cancer, sheds significant insight into the causes of inflammation-driven carcinogenesis, and may provide therapeutic strategies to help prevent malignant disease Total RNA obtained from wild type murine embryonic fibroblasts (WT MEFs), STING deficient MEFs (SKO), Trex1 deficient MEFs (TKO), and both STING and Trex1 deficient MEFs (STKO) treated with DMBA and examined cytokine production by these cells.
Project description:Chronic stimulation of innate immune pathways by microbial agents or damaged tissue is known to promote inflammation-driven tumorigenesis by unclarified mechanisms1-3. Here we demonstrate that mutagenic 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA), etoposide or cisplatin induces nuclear DNA leakage into the cytosol to intrinsically activate STING (Stimulator of Interferon Genes) dependent cytokine production. Inflammatory cytokine levels were subsequently augmented in a STING-dependent extrinsic manner by infiltrating phagocytes purging dying cells. Consequently, STING-/- mice, or wild type mice adoptively transferred with STING-/- bone marrow, were almost completely resistant to DMBA-induced skin carcinogenesis compared to their wild type counterparts. Our data emphasizes, for the first time, a role for STING in the induction of cancer, sheds significant insight into the causes of inflammation-driven carcinogenesis, and may provide therapeutic strategies to help prevent malignant disease Total RNA obtained from DMBA or acetone treated wild type (WT) or STING deficient (SKO) mouse skin or skin tumor was examined for gene expression.
Project description:Inflammatory diseases such as Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome (AGS) and severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are generally lethal disorders that have been traced to defects in the exonuclease Trex1 (DNAseIII). Mice lacking Trex1 similarly die at an early age through comparable symptoms, including inflammatory myocarditis, through chronic activation of the STING (stimulator of interferon genes) pathway. Here we demonstrate that phagocytes rather than myocytes are predominantly responsible for causing inflammation, an outcome that could be alleviated following adoptive transfer of normal bone marrow into Trex1-/- mice. Trex1-/- macrophages did not exhibit significant augmented ability to produce pro-inflammatory cytokines compared to normal macrophages following exposure to STING-dependent activators, but rather appeared chronically stimulated by genomic DNA. These results shed molecular insight into inflammation and provide concepts for the design of new therapies. Total RNA obtained from wild type murine embryonic fibroblasts (WT MEFs), Trex1 deficient MEFs (TKO) or STING and Trex1 double deficient MEFs (STKO) transfected with or without double strand DNA 90 (ISD) and examined cytokine production by these cells.
Project description:Chronic stimulation of innate immune pathways by microbial agents or damaged tissue is known to promote inflammation-driven tumorigenesis by unclarified mechanisms1-3. Here we demonstrate that mutagenic 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA), etoposide or cisplatin induces nuclear DNA leakage into the cytosol to intrinsically activate STING (Stimulator of Interferon Genes) dependent cytokine production. Inflammatory cytokine levels were subsequently augmented in a STING-dependent extrinsic manner by infiltrating phagocytes purging dying cells. Consequently, STING-/- mice, or wild type mice adoptively transferred with STING-/- bone marrow, were almost completely resistant to DMBA-induced skin carcinogenesis compared to their wild type counterparts. Our data emphasizes, for the first time, a role for STING in the induction of cancer, sheds significant insight into the causes of inflammation-driven carcinogenesis, and may provide therapeutic strategies to help prevent malignant disease
Project description:Chronic stimulation of innate immune pathways by microbial agents or damaged tissue is known to promote inflammation-driven tumorigenesis by unclarified mechanisms1-3. Here we demonstrate that mutagenic 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA), etoposide or cisplatin induces nuclear DNA leakage into the cytosol to intrinsically activate STING (Stimulator of Interferon Genes) dependent cytokine production. Inflammatory cytokine levels were subsequently augmented in a STING-dependent extrinsic manner by infiltrating phagocytes purging dying cells. Consequently, STING-/- mice, or wild type mice adoptively transferred with STING-/- bone marrow, were almost completely resistant to DMBA-induced skin carcinogenesis compared to their wild type counterparts. Our data emphasizes, for the first time, a role for STING in the induction of cancer, sheds significant insight into the causes of inflammation-driven carcinogenesis, and may provide therapeutic strategies to help prevent malignant disease
Project description:Introgressed variants from other species can be an important source of genetic variation because they may arise rapidly, can include multiple mutations on a single haplotype, and have often been pretested by selection in the species of origin. Although introgressed alleles are generally deleterious, several studies have reported introgression as the source of adaptive alleles-including the rodenticide-resistant variant of Vkorc1 that introgressed from Mus spretus into European populations of Mus musculus domesticus. Here, we conducted bidirectional genome scans to characterize introgressed regions into one wild population of M. spretus from Spain and three wild populations of M. m. domesticus from France, Germany, and Iran. Despite the fact that these species show considerable intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation, introgression was observed in all individuals, including in the M. musculus reference genome (GRCm38). Mus spretus individuals had a greater proportion of introgression compared with M. m. domesticus, and within M. m. domesticus, the proportion of introgression decreased with geographic distance from the area of sympatry. Introgression was observed on all autosomes for both species, but not on the X-chromosome in M. m. domesticus, consistent with known X-linked hybrid sterility and inviability genes that have been mapped to the M. spretus X-chromosome. Tract lengths were generally short with a few outliers of up to 2.7 Mb. Interestingly, the longest introgressed tracts were in olfactory receptor regions, and introgressed tracts were significantly enriched for olfactory receptor genes in both species, suggesting that introgression may be a source of functional novelty even between species with high barriers to gene flow.
Project description:A breach in tolerance to self-antigens induces expansion of autoreactive T cells, ultimately leading to autoimmune inflammation. While autoreactive T cells are principal drivers of autoimmunity, tissue pathology is alternatively driven by innate cytokines, indicating that autoreactive T cells can induce innate inflammation. This study has led to the discovery that effector memory T (Tem) cells trigger double stranded breaks via mitochondrial ROS production in interacting DCs. Consequently, initiation of the DNA damage response leads to activation of a cGAS-independent, STING-TRAF6-NFkB signaling axis. STING deficient DCs display significant defects in transcriptional induction and functional production of IL-1b and IL-6 following their interaction with Tem cells, both in vitro and in vivo. The discovery of Tem induced innate inflammation through DNA damage and a non-canonical STING-mediated NFkB activation presents this pathway as a potential target to alleviate T cell driven autoimmune inflammation.
Project description:Translational research is commonly performed in the C57B6/J mouse strain, chosen for its genetic homogeneity and phenotypic uniformity. Here, we evaluate the suitability of the white-footed deer mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) as a model organism for aging research, offering a comparative analysis against C57B6/J and diversity outbred (DO) Mus musculus strains. Our study includes comparisons of body composition, skeletal muscle function, and cardiovascular parameters, shedding light on potential applications and limitations of P. leucopus in aging studies. Notably, P. leucopus exhibits distinct body composition characteristics, emphasizing reduced muscle force exertion and a unique metabolism, particularly in fat mass. Cardiovascular assessments showed changes in arterial stiffness, challenging conventional assumptions and highlighting the need for a nuanced interpretation of aging-related phenotypes. Our study also highlights inherent challenges associated with maintaining and phenotyping P. leucopus cohorts. Behavioral considerations, including anxiety-induced responses during handling and phenotyping assessment, pose obstacles in acquiring meaningful data. Moreover, the unique anatomy of P. leucopus necessitates careful adaptation of protocols designed for Mus musculus. While showcasing potential benefits, further extensive analyses across broader age ranges and larger cohorts are necessary to establish the reliability of P. leucopus as a robust and translatable model for aging studies.