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Updated: Jan 8, 2026

Early Viral Entry Assays for the Identification and Evaluation of Antiviral Compounds
Published on: October 29, 2015
STING agonists as antiviral agents
Tiffany S Nelson1, Zhe Ma1,2
1Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
None:
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.
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