The STING inhibitor (ISD-017) reduces glomerulonephritis in 129.B6.Fcgr2b-deficient mice.

The absence of stimulator of interferon genes (STING) in 129.B6.Fcgr2b-deficient mice rescue lupus phenotypes. The administration of a STING inhibitor (ISD017) into the young 129.B6.Fcgr2b-deficient mice prevents lupus nephritis development. This study mainly aimed to evaluate the effects of STING inhibition (ISD107) on established SLE in mice to prove that ISD017 could be a good therapeutic drug to reverse the already set-up autoimmunity and kidney impairment. Twenty-four-week-old Fcgr2b-deficient mice were treated with cyclophosphamide (25 mg/kg, intraperitoneal, once per week), ISD017 (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneal, three times per week), or control vehicle for 8 weeks, and were analyzed for phenotypes. Both ISD017 and cyclophosphamide treatment increased long-term survival and reduced the severity of glomerulonephritis in Fcgr2b-deficient mice. While cyclophosphamide reduced activated B cells (B220+GL-7+), ISD017 decreased activated T cells (CD4+CD69+) and neutrophils (Ly6c+Ly6g+) in Fcgr2b-deficient mice. In addition, ISD017 reduced IL-1ß and interferon-inducible genes. In summary, ISD017 treatment in symptomatic 129.B6.Fcgr2b-deficient mice reduced the severity of glomerulonephritis and increased long-term survival. ISD017 worked comparably to cyclophosphamide for treating lupus nephritis in 129.B6.Fcgr2b-deficient mice. ISD017 reduced activated T cells and neutrophils, while cyclophosphamide targeted activated B cells. These results suggested that STING inhibitors can potentially be a new therapeutic drug for treating lupus.

COVID-19 active case findings based on self-collected saliva samples with CRISPR-Cas12a detection.

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus affecting the world population. Early detection has become one of the most successful strategies to alleviate the epidemic and pandemic of this contagious coronavirus. Surveillance testing programs have been initiated in many countries worldwide to prevent the outbreak of COVID-19. In this study, we demonstrated that our previously established clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas12a-based assay could detect variants of concern during 2021 in Thailand, including Alpha, Beta, and Delta strains as well as Omicron strain in early 2022. In combination with the newly designed saliva collection funnel, we established a safe, simple, economical, and efficient self-collection protocol for the COVID-19 screening process. We successfully utilized the assay in an active case finding with a total number of 578 asymptomatic participants to detect the SARS-CoV-2 in saliva samples. We finally demonstrated that the validation and evaluation in a large-scale setting could provide valuable information and elaborate the practicality of the test in real-world settings. Our optimized protocol yielded effective results with high sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy (96.86%). In addition, this study demonstrates COVID-19 active case findings in low-resource settings, which would be feasible and attractive for surveillance and outbreak prevention in the future.

A STING antagonist modulating the interaction with STIM1 blocks ER-to-Golgi trafficking and inhibits lupus pathology.

BACKGROUND: Nucleic acids are potent stimulators of type I interferon (IFN-I) and antiviral defense, but may also promote pathological inflammation. A range of diseases are characterized by elevated IFN-I, including systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus). The DNA-activated cGAS-STING pathway is a major IFN-I-inducing pathway, and activation of signaling is dependent on trafficking of STING from the ER to the Golgi. METHODS: Here we used cell culture systems, a mouse lupus model, and material from lupus patients, to explore the mode of action of a STING antagonistic peptide, and its ability to modulate disease processes. FINDINGS: We report that the peptide ISD017 selectively inhibits all known down-stream activities of STING, including IFN-I, inflammatory cytokines, autophagy, and apoptosis. ISD017 blocks the essential trafficking of STING from the ER to Golgi through a mechanism dependent on the STING ER retention factor STIM1. Importantly, ISD017 blocks STING activity in vivo and ameliorates disease development in a mouse model for lupus. Finally, ISD017 treatment blocks pathological cytokine responses in cells from lupus patients with elevated IFN-I levels. INTERPRETATION: These data hold promise for beneficial use of STING-targeting therapy in lupus. FUNDING: The Novo Nordisk Foundation, The European Research Council, The Lundbeck Foundation, European Union under the Horizon 2020 Research, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Chulalongkorn University.