cGAS and STING knockout rescues virus infection of plasmid DNA-transfected cells

Abstract

It is well known that plasmid DNA transfection, prior to virus infection, negatively affects infection efficiency. Here we show that cytosolic plasmid DNA activates the cGAS/STING signaling pathway, which ultimately leads to the induction of an antiviral state of the cells. Using a transient one-plasmid CRISPR/Cas9 system, we generated cGAS/STING knockout cells and show that these cells can as efficiently be infected after plasmid DNA transfection as non-transfected cells.