scholarly journals The Cytoplasmic DNA Sensor cGAS Promotes Mitotic Cell Death

Cell ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 178 (2) ◽  
pp. 302-315.e23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Zierhut ◽  
Norihiro Yamaguchi ◽  
Maria Paredes ◽  
Ji-Dung Luo ◽  
Thomas Carroll ◽  
...  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Zierhut ◽  
Hironori Funabiki

AbstractThe cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) synthase cGAS counteracts infections by detecting and binding foreign cytoplasmic DNA1. DNA-induced synthesis of cGAMP activates innate immune signalling and apoptosis through the cGAMP receptor STING and the downstream effector IRF31–7. During interphase the nuclear envelope protects chromosomal self-DNA from cGAS, but the consequences of exposing chromosomes to cGAS following mitotic nuclear envelope disassembly are unknown. Here we demonstrate that cGAS associates with chromosomes during mitosis and binds nucleosomes with even higher affinity than naked DNA in vitro. Nucleosomes nevertheless competitively inhibit the DNA-dependent stimulation of cGAS, and accordingly, chromosomal cGAS does not affect mitotic progression under normal conditions. This suggests that nucleosomes prevent the inappropriate activation of cGAS during mitosis by acting as a signature of self-DNA. During prolonged mitotic arrest, however, cGAS becomes activated to promote cell death, limiting the fraction of cells that can survive and escape mitotic arrest induced by the chemotherapeutic drug taxol. Induction of mitotic cell death involves cGAMP synthesis by cGAS, as well as signal transduction to IRF3 by STING. We thus propose that cGAS plays a previously unappreciated role in guarding against mitotic errors, promoting cell death during prolonged mitotic arrest. Our data also indicate that the cGAS pathway, whose activity differs widely among cell lines, impacts cell fate determination upon treatment with taxol and other anti-mitotic drugs. Thus, we propose the innate immune system may be harnessed to selectively target cells with mitotic abnormalities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruoxi Zhang ◽  
Rui Kang ◽  
Daolin Tang

AbstractCell death and immune response are at the core of life. In past decades, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein STING1 (also known as STING or TMEM173) was found to play a fundamental role in the production of type I interferons (IFNs) and pro-inflammatory cytokines in response to DNA derived from invading microbial pathogens or damaged hosts by activating multiple transcription factors. In addition to this well-known function in infection, inflammation, and immunity, emerging evidence suggests that the STING1-dependent signaling network is implicated in health and disease by regulating autophagic degradation or various cell death modalities (e.g., apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, mitotic cell death, and immunogenic cell death [ICD]). Here, we outline the latest advances in our understanding of the regulating mechanisms and signaling pathways of STING1 in autophagy and cell death, which may shed light on new targets for therapeutic interventions.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrien Procureur ◽  
Audrey Simonaggio ◽  
Jean-Emmanuel Bibault ◽  
Stéphane Oudard ◽  
Yann-Alexandre Vano

The immunogenic cell death (ICD) is defined as a regulated cell death able to induce an adaptive immunity. It depends on different parameters including sufficient antigenicity, adjuvanticity and favorable microenvironment conditions. Radiation therapy (RT), a pillar of modern cancer treatment, is being used in many tumor types in curative, (neo) adjuvant, as well as metastatic settings. The anti-tumor effects of RT have been traditionally attributed to the mitotic cell death resulting from the DNA damages triggered by the release of reactive oxygen species. Recent evidence suggests that RT may also exert its anti-tumor effect by recruiting tumor-specific immunity. RT is able to induce the release of tumor antigens, to act as an immune adjuvant and thus to synergize with the anti-tumor immunity. The advent of new efficient immunotherapeutic agents, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), in multiple tumor types sheds new light on the opportunity of combining RT and ICI. Here, we will describe the biological and radiobiological rationale of the RT-induced ICD. We will then focus on the interest to combine RT and ICI, from bench to bedside, and summarize the clinical data existing with this combination. Finally, RT technical adaptations to optimize the ICD induction will be discussed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. T97-T106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing Cheng ◽  
Karen Crasta

Antimicrotubule agents are commonly utilised as front-line therapies against several malignancies, either by themselves or as combination therapies. Cell-based studies have pinpointed the anti-proliferative basis of action to be a consequence of perturbation of microtubule dynamics leading to sustained activation of the spindle assembly checkpoint, prolonged mitotic arrest and mitotic cell death. However, depending on the biological context and cell type, cells may take an alternative route besides mitotic cell death via a process known as mitotic slippage. Here, mitotically arrested cells ‘slip’ to the next interphase without undergoing proper chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. These post-slippage cells in turn have two main cell fates, either cell death or a G1 arrest ensuing in senescence. In this review, we take a look at the factors determining mitotic cell death vs mitotic slippage, post-slippage cell fates and accompanying features, and their consequences for antimicrotubule drug treatment outcomes.


2007 ◽  
Vol 178 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yohei Niikura ◽  
Amruta Dixit ◽  
Ray Scott ◽  
Guy Perkins ◽  
Katsumi Kitagawa

The spindle checkpoint that monitors kinetochore–microtubule attachment has been implicated in tumorigenesis; however, the relation between the spindle checkpoint and cell death remains obscure. In BUB1-deficient (but not MAD2-deficient) cells, conditions that activate the spindle checkpoint (i.e., cold shock or treatment with nocodazole, paclitaxel, or 17-AAG) induced DNA fragmentation during early mitosis. This mitotic cell death was independent of caspase activation; therefore, we named it caspase-independent mitotic death (CIMD). CIMD depends on p73, a homologue of p53, but not on p53. CIMD also depends on apoptosis-inducing factor and endonuclease G, which are effectors of caspase-independent cell death. Treatment with nocodazole, paclitaxel, or 17-AAG induced CIMD in cell lines derived from colon tumors with chromosome instability, but not in cells from colon tumors with microsatellite instability. This result was due to low BUB1 expression in the former cell lines. When BUB1 is completely depleted, aneuploidy rather than CIMD occurs. These results suggest that cells prone to substantial chromosome missegregation might be eliminated via CIMD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (46) ◽  
pp. 28939-28949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldine Goh ◽  
Matae Ahn ◽  
Feng Zhu ◽  
Lim Beng Lee ◽  
Dahai Luo ◽  
...  

Bats have emerged as unique mammalian vectors harboring a diverse range of highly lethal zoonotic viruses with minimal clinical disease. Despite having sustained complete genomic loss of AIM2, regulation of the downstream inflammasome response in bats is unknown. AIM2 sensing of cytoplasmic DNA triggers ASC aggregation and recruits caspase-1, the central inflammasome effector enzyme, triggering cleavage of cytokines such as IL-1β and inducing GSDMD-mediated pyroptotic cell death. Restoration of AIM2 in bat cells led to intact ASC speck formation, but intriguingly resulted in a lack of caspase-1 or consequent IL-1β activation. We further identified two residues undergoing positive selection pressures inPteropus alectocaspase-1 that abrogate its enzymatic function and are crucial in human caspase-1 activity. Functional analysis of another bat lineage revealed a targeted mechanism for loss ofMyotis davidiiIL-1β cleavage and elucidated an inverse complementary relationship between caspase-1 and IL-1β, resulting in overall diminished signaling across bats of both suborders. Thus we report strategies that additionally undermine downstream inflammasome signaling in bats, limiting an overactive immune response against pathogens while potentially producing an antiinflammatory state resistant to diseases such as atherosclerosis, aging, and neurodegeneration.


2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e468-e468 ◽  
Author(s):  
D S O'Donovan ◽  
S MacFhearraigh ◽  
J Whitfield ◽  
L B Swigart ◽  
G I Evan ◽  
...  

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