Fig. 5

The crosstalk between pyroptosis and cytokines in cGAS-STING pathway. The cGAS-STING pathway (in purple arrow) is the primary sensor for cellular cytosolic dsDNA, enabling the innate immune system to respond to diverse pathogens and dying cells. Cytosolic DNA sensor cGAS binds dsDNA to form cGAS-dsDNA complex, and subsequently activates cGAMP. This initiates a series of downstream effects including STING activation, recruitment of TBK1, and phosphorylation of IRF3. Ultimately, innate immune response and diverse cytokines release. Pyroptosis can regulate cGAS-STING pathway via different components and cytokines (in blue arrow). Additionally, the cGAS-STING pathway can also promote pyroptosis mainly through NLPR3 and AIM2 inflammasomes (in red arrow). The crosstalk between pyroptosis and cytokines in cGAS-STING pathway together forms a complex network