Why are there so many sensors implicated in the cell-intrinsic innate response to dsDNA? cGAS, AIM2, IFI16, Ku80, PARP1, ZBP1, and on and on they go; there are a dozen or so such sensors in humans, all of which are reported to bind cytosolic dsDNA in a sequence-independent fashion.
How do these sensors interact? Is there a hierarchy that leads them to collaborate in a choreographed singular response? Or is the cytosolic dsDNA sensing pathway an "every sensor for themselves" free-for-all?
We are interested in understanding the organization of the cytosolic sensing pathway as a true system.
Of particular interest is the role of IFI16 filaments in this system. What do these giant oligomers contribute to host defense?
How do these sensors interact? Is there a hierarchy that leads them to collaborate in a choreographed singular response? Or is the cytosolic dsDNA sensing pathway an "every sensor for themselves" free-for-all?
We are interested in understanding the organization of the cytosolic sensing pathway as a true system.
Of particular interest is the role of IFI16 filaments in this system. What do these giant oligomers contribute to host defense?