A recent publication from Nadine Laguette’s team, featured in Nature Communications, reveals an ancestral role of the STING protein in the regulation of lipid metabolism.
The researchers demonstrate that STING regulates lipid metabolism through FADS2, uncovering a previously unknown function that predates its well-established role in innate immunity.
These findings provide new insights into the evolutionary history of STING and highlight the close interplay between metabolism and immunity.
Reference:
Guha, S., Re, J., Grégoire, S. et al. Evolutionary conservation analysis reveals a primordial function of STING as a regulator of lipid metabolism via FADS2. Nat Commun 17, 9771 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-76833-5
