RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Apoptosis-derived membrane vesicles drive the cGAS–STING pathway and enhance type I IFN production in systemic lupus erythematosus JF Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases JO Ann Rheum Dis FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and European League Against Rheumatism SP 1507 OP 1515 DO 10.1136/annrheumdis-2018-212988 VO 77 IS 10 A1 Yasuhiro Kato A1 JeongHoon Park A1 Hyota Takamatsu A1 Hachirou Konaka A1 Wataru Aoki A1 Syunsuke Aburaya A1 Mitsuyoshi Ueda A1 Masayuki Nishide A1 Shohei Koyama A1 Yoshitomo Hayama A1 Yuhei Kinehara A1 Toru Hirano A1 Yoshihito Shima A1 Masashi Narazaki A1 Atsushi Kumanogoh YR 2018 UL http://ard.bmj.com/content/77/10/1507.abstract AB Objective Despite the importance of type I interferon (IFN-I) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pathogenesis, the mechanisms of IFN-I production have not been fully elucidated. Recognition of nucleic acids by DNA sensors induces IFN-I and interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), but the involvement of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP)–AMP synthase (cGAS) and stimulator of interferon genes (STING) in SLE remains unclear. We studied the role of the cGAS–STING pathway in the IFN-I-producing cascade driven by SLE serum.Methods We collected sera from patients with SLE (n=64), patients with other autoimmune diseases (n=31) and healthy controls (n=35), and assayed them using a cell-based reporter system that enables highly sensitive detection of IFN-I and ISG-inducing activity. We used Toll-like receptor-specific reporter cells and reporter cells harbouring knockouts of cGAS, STING and IFNAR2 to evaluate signalling pathway-dependent ISG induction.Results IFN-I bioactivity and ISG-inducing activities of serum were higher in patients with SLE than in patients with other autoimmune diseases or healthy controls. ISG-inducing activity of SLE sera was significantly reduced in STING-knockout reporter cells, and STING-dependent ISG-inducing activity correlated with disease activity. Double-stranded DNA levels were elevated in SLE. Apoptosis-derived membrane vesicles (AdMVs) from SLE sera had high ISG-inducing activity, which was diminished in cGAS-knockout or STING-knockout reporter cells.Conclusions AdMVs in SLE serum induce IFN-I production through activation of the cGAS–STING pathway. Thus, blockade of the cGAS–STING axis represents a promising therapeutic target for SLE. Moreover, our cell-based reporter system may be useful for stratifying patients with SLE with high ISG-inducing activity.