Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2440/131299
Citations
Scopus Web of Science® Altmetric
?
?
Type: Journal article
Title: Connexin-dependent transfer of cgamp to phagocytes modulates antiviral responses
Author: Pépin, G.
De Nardo, D.
Rootes, C.L.
Ullah, T.R.
Al-Asmari, S.S.
Balka, K.R.
Li, H.M.
Quinn, K.M.
Moghaddas, F.
Chappaz, S.
Kile, B.T.
Morand, E.F.
Masters, S.L.
Stewart, C.R.
Williams, B.R.G.
Gantier, M.P.
Citation: mBio, 2020; 11(1):1-6
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Issue Date: 2020
ISSN: 2161-2129
2150-7511
Editor: Horner, S.M.
Statement of
Responsibility: 
Geneviève Pépin, Dominic De Nardo, Christina L. Rootes, Tomalika R. Ullah, Sumaiah S. Al-Asmari, Katherine R. Balka ... et al.
Abstract: Activation of cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) synthase (cGAS) plays a critical role in antiviral responses to many DNA viruses. Sensing of cytosolic DNA by cGAS results in synthesis of the endogenous second messenger cGAMP that activates stimulator of interferon genes (STING) in infected cells. Critically, cGAMP can also propagate antiviral responses to uninfected cells through intercellular transfer, although the modalities of this transfer between epithelial and immune cells remain poorly defined. We demonstrate here that cGAMP-producing epithelial cells can transactivate STING in cocultured macrophages through direct cGAMP transfer. cGAMP transfer was reliant upon connexin expression by epithelial cells and pharmacological inhibition of connexins blunted STING-dependent transactivation of the macrophage compartment. Macrophage transactivation by cGAMP contributed to a positive-feedback loop amplifying antiviral responses, significantly protecting uninfected epithelial cells against viral infection. Collectively, our findings constitute the first direct evidence of a connexin-dependent cGAMP transfer to macrophages by epithelial cells, to amplify antiviral responses. IMPORTANCE Recent studies suggest that extracellular cGAMP can be taken up by macrophages to engage STING through several mechanisms. Our work demonstrates that connexin-dependent communication between epithelial cells and macrophages plays a significant role in the amplification of antiviral responses mediated by cGAMP and suggests that pharmacological strategies aimed at modulating connexins may have therapeutic applications to control antiviral responses in humans.
Keywords: Cells, Cultured
Phagocytes
Animals
Humans
Mice
Virus Diseases
Connexins
Nucleotides, Cyclic
Host-Pathogen Interactions
Immunomodulation
Biomarkers
Rights: © 2020 Pépin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
DOI: 10.1128/mBio.03187-19
Grant ID: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1081167
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1124485
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1113577
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1063008
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/140100594
Published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mbio.03187-19
Appears in Collections:Aurora harvest 8
Microbiology and Immunology publications

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
hdl_131299.pdf311.5 kBAdobe PDFView/Open


Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.