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Mitochondrial DNA in inflammation and immunity
Author(s) -
Riley Joel S,
Tait Stephen WG
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
embo reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.584
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1469-3178
pISSN - 1469-221X
DOI - 10.15252/embr.201949799
Subject(s) - inflammation , mitochondrial dna , immunity , biology , dna , mitochondrion , microbiology and biotechnology , immune system , genetics , immunology , gene
Mitochondria are cellular organelles that orchestrate a vast range of biological processes, from energy production and metabolism to cell death and inflammation. Despite this seemingly symbiotic relationship, mitochondria harbour within them a potent agonist of innate immunity: their own genome. Release of mitochondrial DNA into the cytoplasm and out into the extracellular milieu activates a plethora of different pattern recognition receptors and innate immune responses, including cGAS ‐ STING , TLR 9 and inflammasome formation leading to, among others, robust type I interferon responses. In this Review, we discuss how mt DNA can be released from the mitochondria, the various inflammatory pathways triggered by mt DNA release and its myriad biological consequences for health and disease.