Activation of human STING by a molecular glue-like compound

Jie Li, Stephen M. Canham, Hua Wu, Martin Henault, Lihao Chen, Guoxun Liu, Yu Chen, Gary Yu, Howard R. Miller, Viktor Hornak, Scott M. Brittain, Gregory A. Michaud, Antonin Tutter, Wendy Broom, Mary Ellen Digan, Sarah M. McWhirter, Kelsey E. Sivick, Helen T. Pham, Christine H. Chen, George S. TriaJeffery M. McKenna, Markus Schirle, Xiaohong Mao, Thomas B. Nicholson, Yuan Wang, Jeremy L. Jenkins, Rishi K. Jain, John A. Tallarico, Sejal J. Patel, Lianxing Zheng, Nathan T. Ross, Charles Y. Cho, Xuewu Zhang, Xiao Chen Bai, Yan Feng

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is a dimeric transmembrane adapter protein that plays a key role in the human innate immune response to infection and has been therapeutically exploited for its antitumor activity. The activation of STING requires its high-order oligomerization, which could be induced by binding of the endogenous ligand, cGAMP, to the cytosolic ligand-binding domain. Here we report the discovery through functional screens of a class of compounds, named NVS-STGs, that activate human STING. Our cryo-EM structures show that NVS-STG2 induces the high-order oligomerization of human STING by binding to a pocket between the transmembrane domains of the neighboring STING dimers, effectively acting as a molecular glue. Our functional assays showed that NVS-STG2 could elicit potent STING-mediated immune responses in cells and antitumor activities in animal models. (Figure presented.)

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)365-372
Number of pages8
JournalNature chemical biology
Volume20
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2024

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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