STING
STING (stimulator of interferon genes) is an innate-immune signaling protein that functions in the cGAS–STING pathway, linking detection of cytosolic DNA—including mitochondrial DNA—to inflammatory and type I interferon responses.
STING (stimulator of interferon genes) is an innate-immune signaling protein that functions in the cGAS–STING pathway, linking detection of cytosolic DNA—including mitochondrial DNA—to inflammatory and type I interferon responses. Its activation can promote NF-κB signaling, macrophage and microglial inflammatory activity, and antitumor immunity. In experimental models, STING activation has been associated with enhanced CD8-positive T-cell infiltration, M1 macrophage polarization, and improved immune responses to vaccines and tumors, whereas excessive activation may contribute to tissue injury and neuroinflammation.
STING is therefore being investigated as a context-dependent pharmaceutical target. Agonists such as 2′,3′-cGAMP are being incorporated into lipid, polymeric, albumin-based, and hydrogel delivery systems to improve anti-infective and cancer immunotherapy, including combinations with tumor antigens, Toll-like receptor agonists, chemotherapy, pyroptosis-inducing strategies, and PARP inhibition. Conversely, STING inhibitors and PROTAC degraders are being explored for conditions involving harmful inflammation, including post-cardiac-arrest brain injury, radiation-induced hematopoietic injury, and acute kidney injury. These applications reflect efforts to achieve tissue-specific modulation of STING rather than uniform activation or blockade.
- Ferroportin deficiency drives olaparib resistance in ovarian cancer via the cGAS-STING-STAT3 survival axis. PMID 42968661
Where the papers sit
14 papers from the last 6 months study STING directly
Study type 0 clinical trials · 14 preclinical
Themes 3 themes · 1 paradigm shift · 1 new direction
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cGAS-STING Immune Modulation
cGAS-STING modulation is being engineered through cGAMP liposomes, dendritic-cell systems, metal hydrogels, and bone-marrow-targeted nanoinhibitors. Agonism supports antitumor and anti-infective vaccination, often alongside pyroptosis, reactive oxygen species, or macrophage remodeling. In contrast, inhibition protects against radiation-induced hematopoietic injury, while ferroportin deficiency links the pathway to olaparib resistance through STAT3. The common direction is context-dependent control of innate immunity across cancer, infection, and tissue injury.
6 papers · 42.9%
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cGAS-STING Inflammatory Signaling
STING is being tuned rather than uniformly activated, with PARP inhibition used to amplify type I interferon in BRCA-proficient tumors and PROTACs developed to degrade STING in acute kidney injury. Other approaches suppress mitochondrial DNA-driven inflammation, microglial NF-κB signaling after cardiac arrest, or COPII-linked cGAS-STING activation. H-151 and related inhibitors reinforce pharmacologic pathway blockade, while mitophagy regulation offers an upstream target. The field is separating beneficial antitumor interferon responses from damaging inflammation in nonmalignant tissues.
5 papers · 35.7%
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STING Cancer Immunotherapy
STING agonist nanovaccines are being paired with tumor antigens, lipid or albumin carriers, and chemotherapy to intensify antitumor immunity. Triple-negative breast cancer is a recurring target, while small cell lung cancer highlights CREBBP loss as an epigenetic mechanism that silences STING and MHC-I. The direction is toward restoring antigen presentation while activating innate sensing. Whether these combinations overcome epigenetic immune escape remains open.
3 papers · 21.4%
STING agonism requires delivery to the appropriate immune or tissue cell rather than nonspecific pathway activation
The DC-centric nanoengineering study in cancer immunotherapy and the AMnESTI study in aged-mouse influenza vaccination show, in distinct systems, that STING activation alone is not the operative therapeutic principle: efficacy depends on directing the agonist to the cells that can convert it into a useful immune response. The cancer study attributes limited agonist efficacy partly to inadequate DC targeting and achieves activity by releasing cGAMP in antigen-bearing dendritic cells, whereas AMnESTI targets alveolar epithelial cells and reverses age-associated lung immune dysfunction to improve vaccination 42705236Sep 42726884Sep. The resulting shift is from treating STING activation as a generally sufficient intervention to designing cell-specific delivery around the relevant responding compartment.
STING is identified as a mediator of olaparib resistance rather than solely as an antitumor immune activator
The ferroportin-deficiency study in ovarian cancer assigns STING a drug-resistance function: FPN loss engages a cGAS-STING-STAT3 survival axis, and combining olaparib with the STING inhibitor C-176 is investigated to overcome resistance 42968661Nov. This places STING outside the set’s other cancer applications, which use agonism to promote interferon signaling, dendritic-cell licensing, antigen presentation, or antitumor immunity, and opens a direction in which inhibiting STING—not activating it—is part of restoring PARP-inhibitor sensitivity.
Papers
The 14 papers from the last 6 months that study STING directly, newest first, by theme and by study type. Study types come from PubMed publication types and MeSH headings.
By theme
cGAS-STING Immune Modulation (6)
- Ferroportin deficiency drives olaparib resistance in ovarian cancer via the cGAS-STING-STAT3 survival axis. Clinical and translational medicine · 2 Nov 2026 PMID 42968661
- AMnESTI reverses age-associated lung immune decline to drive heterosubtypic protection by inactivated influenza vaccines. Science immunology · 11 Sept 2026 PMID 42726884
- Dendritic cell centric nanoengineering couples antigen acquisition and STING activation for cancer immunotherapy. Cell reports. Medicine · 7 Sept 2026 PMID 42705236
- cGAMP-liposome: A versatile and scalable STING agonist adjuvant for enhanced anti-infective and antitumor immunity. International journal of pharmaceutics · 3 Sept 2026 PMID 42692376
- Intelligent metal-integrated hydrogels orchestrate pyroptosis and cGAS-STING for potentiated treatment of colorectal cancer peritoneal metastasis. Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society · 15 Jul 2026 PMID 42456978
- A bone-marrow-homing biomimetic STING nanoinhibitor alleviates radiation-induced hematopoietic injury via modulating macrophage polarization. Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society · 27 Jun 2026 PMID 42364698
cGAS-STING Inflammatory Signaling (5)
- PARP inhibitor YCH1899 activates type I interferon signaling and synergizes with STING agonists in BRCA-proficient tumors. Molecular biomedicine · 26 Aug 2026 PMID 42645640
- STING inhibition alleviates post-cardiac arrest brain injury by suppressing microglia-mediated neuroinflammation via the cGAS/STING/NF-κB pathway. International immunopharmacology · 4 Aug 2026 PMID 42551197
- Dual-regulation of mitophagy and cytosolic mtDNA-induced inflammation for the treatment of inflammatory bone loss. Free radical biology & medicine · 18 Jul 2026 PMID 42471165
- Discovery of indolyl-urea compounds as effective STING PROTAC degraders for the treatment of acute kidney injury. Bioorganic chemistry · 29 Jun 2026 PMID 42372458
- Hydroxycinnamic acids target COPII cargo sorting machinery to attenuate inflammation via the cGAS-STING axis. Journal of ethnopharmacology · 24 May 2026 PMID 42178077
STING Cancer Immunotherapy (3)
- CREBBP loss drives immune evasion by epigenetically silencing STING and MHC-I in small cell lung cancer. Science advances · 22 Oct 2026 PMID 42905834
- Multifunctional nano-vaccines integrating lipid-conjugated tumor antigens with TLR/STING agonists enhance cancer immunotherapy. Cancer letters · 20 Jul 2026 PMID 42476286
- An Abraxane-based albumin nanoplatform loaded with a STING agonist for synergistic dual immunotherapy of triple-negative breast cancer. Biomaterials advances · 30 May 2026 PMID 42218104
By study type
Preclinical: animal, cell and lab studies (14)
- Ferroportin deficiency drives olaparib resistance in ovarian cancer via the cGAS-STING-STAT3 survival axis. Clinical and translational medicine · 2 Nov 2026 PMID 42968661
- CREBBP loss drives immune evasion by epigenetically silencing STING and MHC-I in small cell lung cancer. Science advances · 22 Oct 2026 PMID 42905834
- AMnESTI reverses age-associated lung immune decline to drive heterosubtypic protection by inactivated influenza vaccines. Science immunology · 11 Sept 2026 PMID 42726884
- Dendritic cell centric nanoengineering couples antigen acquisition and STING activation for cancer immunotherapy. Cell reports. Medicine · 7 Sept 2026 PMID 42705236
- cGAMP-liposome: A versatile and scalable STING agonist adjuvant for enhanced anti-infective and antitumor immunity. International journal of pharmaceutics · 3 Sept 2026 PMID 42692376
- PARP inhibitor YCH1899 activates type I interferon signaling and synergizes with STING agonists in BRCA-proficient tumors. Molecular biomedicine · 26 Aug 2026 PMID 42645640
- STING inhibition alleviates post-cardiac arrest brain injury by suppressing microglia-mediated neuroinflammation via the cGAS/STING/NF-κB pathway. International immunopharmacology · 4 Aug 2026 PMID 42551197
- Multifunctional nano-vaccines integrating lipid-conjugated tumor antigens with TLR/STING agonists enhance cancer immunotherapy. Cancer letters · 20 Jul 2026 PMID 42476286
- Dual-regulation of mitophagy and cytosolic mtDNA-induced inflammation for the treatment of inflammatory bone loss. Free radical biology & medicine · 18 Jul 2026 PMID 42471165
- Intelligent metal-integrated hydrogels orchestrate pyroptosis and cGAS-STING for potentiated treatment of colorectal cancer peritoneal metastasis. Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society · 15 Jul 2026 PMID 42456978
- Discovery of indolyl-urea compounds as effective STING PROTAC degraders for the treatment of acute kidney injury. Bioorganic chemistry · 29 Jun 2026 PMID 42372458
- A bone-marrow-homing biomimetic STING nanoinhibitor alleviates radiation-induced hematopoietic injury via modulating macrophage polarization. Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society · 27 Jun 2026 PMID 42364698
- An Abraxane-based albumin nanoplatform loaded with a STING agonist for synergistic dual immunotherapy of triple-negative breast cancer. Biomaterials advances · 30 May 2026 PMID 42218104
- Hydroxycinnamic acids target COPII cargo sorting machinery to attenuate inflammation via the cGAS-STING axis. Journal of ethnopharmacology · 24 May 2026 PMID 42178077
Written from 14 PubMed abstracts, each one listed by PMID above. Published: 2026-10-16. Drafted by language models from published abstracts; not medical advice.