IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-Heat can STING: Defining the relationship between heat and cGAS/STING activation in iTreg and Th1 CD4+ T cells.

Heat can STING: Defining the relationship between heat and cGAS/STING activation in iTreg and Th1 CD4+ T cells.

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Video Summary

The talk explored how heat and the cGAS-STING pathway interact in T cells, especially Tregs and Th1 cells. Heat, a hallmark of inflammation, was shown previously to amplify inflammatory signaling in Th1 cells by increasing mitochondrial ROS and activating STING. Here, the speaker focused on Tregs, which were more resilient to heat-induced death but still experienced mitochondrial stress. At 39°C, Tregs produced cGAS-dependent type I/III interferons and became more sensitive to STING agonism. Heat and STING activation reduced Treg mitochondrial respiration, shifted metabolism toward glycolysis, lowered suppressive markers like CTLA-4 and FOXP3, and increased inflammatory cytokines. Functionally, these changes weakened Treg suppression of CD8 T-cell proliferation and, in vivo, enhanced antitumor responses. The conclusion was that heat can prime Tregs for inflammatory reprogramming via cGAS-STING, suggesting temperature modulation may influence immune tolerance and inflammation.

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Date April 17, 2026 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM

Room 102

Session Lymphocyte and Innate Leukocyte Mastery of Heat, Migration, and Inflammation

Speaker Rachael Sinard

Track Cellular Adhesion, Migration, and Inflammation (CAM)

Year 2026

Keywords

cGAS-STING pathway

T regulatory cells

heat stress

mitochondrial dysfunction

immune reprogramming

April 17, 2026 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM

102

Lymphocyte and Innate Leukocyte Mastery of Heat, Migration, and Inflammation

Rachael Sinard

Cellular Adhesion, Migration, and Inflammation (CAM)

2026