Description
Facilitator of innate immune signaling that acts as a sensor of cytosolic DNA from bacteria and viruses and promotes the production of type I interferon (IFN-alpha and IFN-beta). Innate immune response is triggered in response to non-CpG double-stranded DNA from viruses and bacteria delivered to the cytoplasm. Acts by recognizing and binding cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP), a second messenger produced by bacteria, and cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP), a messenger produced in response to DNA virus in the cytosol: upon binding of c-di-GMP or cGAMP, autoinhibition is alleviated and TMEM173/STING is able to activate both NF-kappa-B and IRF3 transcription pathways to induce expression of type I interferon and exert a potent anti-viral state