cGAS–STING drives ageing-related inflammation and neurodegeneration

Abstract Low-grade inflammation is a hallmark of old age and a central driver of ageing-associated impairment and disease 1 . Multiple factors can contribute to ageing-associated inflammation 2 ; however, the molecular pathways that transduce aberrant inflammatory signalling and their impact in natural ageing remain unclear. Here we show that the cGAS–STING signalling pathway, which mediates immune sensing of DNA 3 , is a critical driver of chronic inflammation and functional decline during ageing. Blockade of STING suppresses the inflammatory phenotypes of senescent human cells and tissues, attenuates ageing-related inflammation in multiple peripheral organs and the brain in mice, and leads to an improvement…