Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
07:15
A Mouse Model of Incompletely Resected Soft Tissue Sarcoma for Testing (Neo)adjuvant Therapies
Published on: July 28, 2020
Restoring STING expression in soft tissue sarcoma increases activation and function of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes
Stine Høvring Godsk1, Mireia Crus De Los Santos2, Tobias Wang Bjerg1
1Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.
Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy : CII
|June 21, 2026
Summary
Activating the STING pathway in soft tissue sarcomas (STS) boosts immune cell infiltration and tumor cell killing. This approach, using CRISPR activation, may improve responses to cancer immunotherapies like anti-PD-1 treatment.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are heterogeneous cancers with limited treatment options for metastatic disease.
- Current immunotherapies, like immune checkpoint inhibitors, show minimal efficacy in sarcoma.
- The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway's role in sarcoma is largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of the STING pathway in STS.
- To explore the potential of epigenetic STING activation as a therapeutic strategy for STS.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of STING expression in a cohort of STS patients.
- Utilizing lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-mediated CRISPR activation to restore STING expression in STS cells.
- Evaluating the impact of STING activation on immune cell infiltration and tumor cell killing in patient-derived models.
Main Results:
- STING expression in primary STS tumors correlated with increased immune cell infiltration.
- Restoring STING expression reactivated the cGAS-STING pathway, enhancing T-cell recognition and tumor cell killing.
- Epigenetic STING activation improved responses to anti-PD-1 therapy in preclinical models.
Conclusions:
- Controlled epigenetic activation of STING enhances immune infiltration and tumor cell killing in STS.
- Targeting STING via CRISPR activation presents a promising therapeutic strategy for soft tissue sarcomas.
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