Dysfunctional telomeres through mitostress‐induced cGAS/STING activation to aggravate immune senescence and viral pneumonia
-
- Nianyin Lv
- Department of Immunology and Medical Microbiology Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Nanjing Jiangsu China
-
- Yufang Zhao
- Department of Basic Medicine Jiangxi Medical College Nanchang Jiangxi China
-
- Xiaoyi Liu
- Department of Immunology and Medical Microbiology Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Nanjing Jiangsu China
-
- Lusha Ye
- Department of Immunology and Medical Microbiology Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Nanjing Jiangsu China
-
- Zihao Liang
- Department of Immunology and Medical Microbiology Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Nanjing Jiangsu China
-
- Yanhua Kang
- Department of Immunology and Medical Microbiology Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Nanjing Jiangsu China
-
- Yeping Dong
- Department of Immunology and Medical Microbiology Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Nanjing Jiangsu China
-
- Wei Wang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory the Tongde Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang TCM University Hangzhou Zhejiang China
-
- Narasaiah Kolliputi
- Division of Allergy and Immunology Department of Internal Medicine Morsani College of Medicine University of South Florida Tampa Florida USA
-
- Liyun Shi
- Department of Immunology and Medical Microbiology Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Nanjing Jiangsu China
説明
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Disproportionately high incidence and mortality of respiratory infection such as influenza A virus (IAV) and SARS‐CoV‐2 have been evidenced in the elderly, but the role and the mechanism of age‐associated immune deregulation in disease exacerbation are not well defined. Using a late generation of mice deficient in telomerase RNA (Terc<jats:sup>−/−</jats:sup>), we herein demonstrated that aged mice were exquisitely susceptible to respiratory viral infection, with excessive inflammation and increased mortality. Furthermore, we identified the cGAS/STING pathway, which was essentially induced by the leaked mitochondrial DNA, as a biologically relevant mechanism contributing to exaggerated inflammation in Terc<jats:sup>−/−</jats:sup> mice following viral infection. Innate immune cells, mainly, macrophages with shortened telomeres, exhibited hallmarks of cellular senescence, mitochondrial distress, and aberrant activation of STING and NLRP3 inflammasome pathways, which predisposed mice to severe viral pneumonia during commonly mild infections. Application of STING inhibitor and, more importantly, senolytic agent, reduced the burden of stressed macrophages, improved mitochondrial integrity, and suppressed STING activation, thereby conferring the protection for Terc<jats:sup>−/−</jats:sup> mice against respiratory infection. Together, the findings expand our understanding of innate immune senescence and reveal the potential of the senolytics as a promising treatment to alleviate the symptom of viral pneumonia, particularly for the older population.</jats:p>
収録刊行物
-
- Aging Cell
-
Aging Cell 21 (4), 2022-03-21
Wiley