Chromosomal instability can trigger metastasis via STING activity

A paper published in Nature brings into question the safety and efficacy of activating the transmembrane protein 173 (STING; TMEM173) pathway -- which triggers immune responses in the presence of cytosolic DNA -- in cancers with chromosomal instability. The study, led by Lewis Cantley at Weill Cornell Medicine and Charles Swanton at the Francis Crick Institute, showed chromosomally unstable tumor cells can co-opt the STING pathway to promote metastasis.

Cantley is the Meyer director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell. Swanton is also a co-founder of cancer company Achilles Therapeutics Ltd. (Stevenage, U.K.). ...