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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Stimulation of Cytoplasmic DNA Sensing Pathways In Vitro and In Vivo
Published on: September 18, 2014
TLR-independent type I interferon induction in response to an extracellular bacterial pathogen via intracellular
Marie Charrel-Dennis1, Eicke Latz, Kristen A Halmen
1Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
Abstract:
Type I interferon (IFN) is an important host defense cytokine against intracellular pathogens, mainly viruses. In assessing IFN production in response to group B streptococcus (GBS), we find that IFN-beta was produced by macrophages upon stimulation with both heat-killed and live GBS. Exposure of macrophages to heat-killed GBS activated a Toll-like receptor (TLR)-dependent pathway, whereas live GBS activated a TLR/NOD/RIG-like receptor (RLR)-independent pathway. This latter pathway required bacterial phagocytosis, proteolytic bacterial degradation, and phagolysosomal membrane destruction by GBS pore-forming toxins, leading to the release of bacterial DNA into the cytosol. GBS DNA in the cytosol induced IFN-beta production via a pathway dependent on the activation of the serine-threonine kinase TBK1 and phosphorylation of the transcription factor IRF3. Thus, activation of IFN-alpha/-beta production during infection with GBS, commonly considered an extracellular pathogen, appears to result from the interaction of GBS DNA with a putative intracellular DNA sensor or receptor.
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