DNA recognition in immunity and disease.

Great progress has been made in understanding how immune cells detect microbial pathogens. An area that has received particular attention is nucleic acid sensing where RNA and DNA sensing machineries have been uncovered. For DNA, TLR9 in endosomes and numerous cytoplasmic DNA binding proteins have been identified. Several of these have been proposed to couple DNA recognition to induction of type I IFNs, pro-inflammatory cytokines and/or caspase-1 activation. Given the ubiquitous expression of many of these DNA binding proteins and the significant potential for endogenous DNA to engage these molecules, it is important that DNA recognition is tightly regulated. A better understanding of DNA recognition pathways can provide new insights into infectious, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.