Micronucleus is not a potent inducer of the cGAS/STING pathway

Abstract

Micronuclei (MN) have been associated with the innate immune response. The abrupt rupture of MN membranes results in the accumulation of cGAS, potentially activating STING and downstream interferon-responsive genes. However, direct evidence connecting MN and cGAS activation has been lacking. We have developed the FuVis2 reporter system, which enables the visualization of the cell nucleus carrying a single sister chromatid fusion and, consequently, MN. Using this FuVis2 reporter equipped with cGAS and STING reporters, we rigorously assessed the potency of cGAS activation by MN in individual living cells. Our findings reveal that cGAS localization to membrane-ruptured MN during interphase is infrequent, with cGAS primarily capturing MN during mitosis and remaining bound to cytosolic chromatin. We found that cGAS accumulation during mitosis neither activates STING in the subsequent interphase nor triggers the interferon response. Gamma-ray irradiation activates STING independently of MN formation and cGAS localization to MN. These results suggest that cGAS accumulation in cytosolic MN is not a robust indicator of its activation and that MN are not the primary trigger of the cGAS/STING pathway.