Activation of host nucleic acid sensors by Mycobacterium: good for us or good for them?

Abstract

Although the importance of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) sensors in controlling viral infection is well established, their role in promoting an effective immune response to pathogens other than viruses is less clear. This is particularly true for infections with mycobacteria, as studies point to both protective and detrimental roles for activation of nucleic acid sensors in controlling a mycobacterial infection. Some of the contradiction likely stems from the use of different model systems and different mycobacterial species/strains as well as from which nucleic acid sensors were studied and what downstream effectors were evaluated. In this review, we will describe the different nucleic acid sensors that have been studied in the context of mycobacterial infections, and how the different studies compare. We conclude with a section on how nucleic acid sensor agonists have been used therapeutically and what further information is needed to enhance their potential as therapeutic agents.

Keywords:

• Mycobacterium
• DNA sensors
• RNA sensors
• therapeutics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Biographical note

Joshua Ongalo is a graduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, William McManus, Joseph Vecchio and Kylie Webber are graduate students in the Intergraded Biomedical Sciences (IBMS) graduate program, University of Notre Dame and Jeff Schorey is a Professor of Biological Sciences, and Director of the IBMS program, University of Notre Dame.

Data availability statement

No data were included in this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

JSS is funded by National Institute of Heath, grant number R21 AI168662