STING signaling activation inhibits HBV replication and attenuates the severity of liver injury and HBV-induced fibrosis

The covalently closed circular DNA(cccDNA)of HBV plays a crucial role in viral persistence and is also a risk factor for developing HBV-induced diseases,including liver fibrosis.Stimulator of interferon genes(STING),a master regulator of DNA-mediated innate immune activation,is a potential therapeutic target for viral infection and virus-related diseases.In this study,agonist-induced STING signaling activation in macrophages was revealed to inhibit cccDNA-mediated transcription and HBV replication via epigenetic modification in hepatocytes.Notably,STING activation could efficiently attenuate the severity of liver injury and fibrosis in a chronic recombinant cccDNA(rcccDNA)mouse model,which is a proven suitable research platform for HBV-induced fibrosis.Mechanistically,STING-activated autophagic flux could suppress macrophage inflammasome activation,leading to the amelioration of liver injury and HBV-induced fibrosis.Overall,the activation of STING signaling could inhibit HBV replication through epigenetic suppression of cccDNA and alleviate HBV-induced liver fibrosis through the suppression of macrophage inflammasome activation by activating autophagic flux in a chronic HBV mouse model.This study suggests that targeting the STING signaling pathway may be an important therapeutic strategy to protect against persistent HBV replication and HBV-induced fibrosis.