Tiffany S. Nelson, Zhe Ma
For antivirals, synthetic STING agonists have been shown to be effective in both prophylactic and anaphylactic manners against viral infection and serve as vaccine adjuvants.
The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of interferon genes (cGAS-STING) pathway plays a pivotal role in mounting an innate immune response against invading pathogens. Activation of this pathway by exogenous or endogenous stimuli triggers the downstream production of interferons and both pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokines. Over the past decade, hundreds of patents have been filed for the development and use of natural and synthetic STING agonists. For antivirals, synthetic STING agonists have been shown to be effective in both prophylactic and anaphylactic manners against viral infection and serve as vaccine adjuvants. This review summarizes the current application of STING agonists as antivirals to date against a variety of RNA and DNA viruses.