The innate immune regulator STING is a critical sensor of self- and pathogen-derived DNA. DNA sensing by STING leads to the induction of type-I interferons (IFN-I) and other cytokines, which promote immune-cell-mediated eradication of pathogens and neoplastic cells^1,2. STING is also a robust driver of antitumour immunity, which has led to the development of STING activators and small-molecule agonists as adjuvants for cancer immunotherapy³. Pain, transmitted by peripheral nociceptive sensory neurons (nociceptors), also aids in host defence by alerting organisms to the presence of potentially damaging stimuli, including pathogens and cancer cells^4,5. Here we demonstrate that STING is a critical regulator of nociception through IFN-I signalling in peripheral nociceptors. We show that mice lacking STING or IFN-I signalling exhibit hypersensitivity to nociceptive stimuli and heightened nociceptor excitability. Conversely, intrathecal activation of STING produces robust antinociception in mice and non-human primates. STING-mediated antinociception is governed by IFN-Is, which rapidly suppress excitability of mouse, monkey and human nociceptors. Our findings establish the STING–IFN-I signalling axis as a critical regulator of physiological nociception and a promising new target for treating chronic pain.

先天免疫调节剂 STING 是自身和病原体衍生 DNA 的关键传感器。STING 检测 DNA 会导致 I 型干扰素 (IFN-I) 和其他细胞因子的诱导，从而促进免疫细胞介导的病原体和肿瘤细胞的根除^1,2。STING 也是抗肿瘤免疫的强大驱动力，这导致了 STING 激活剂和小分子激动剂的开发，作为癌症免疫治疗的佐剂³。由外周伤害性感觉神经元（伤害感受器）传递的疼痛还通过提醒生物体注意潜在破坏性刺激（包括病原体和癌细胞）的存在来帮助宿主防御^4,5. 在这里，我们证明 STING 是通过外周伤害感受器中的 IFN-I 信号传导伤害感受的关键调节剂。我们表明，缺乏 STING 或 IFN-I 信号的小鼠表现出对伤害性刺激的超敏反应和增强的伤害性感受器兴奋性。相反，STING 的鞘内激活在小鼠和非人类灵长类动物中产生强大的抗伤害作用。STING 介导的抗伤害作用受 IFN-Is 控制，它可以快速抑制小鼠、猴子和人类伤害感受器的兴奋性。我们的研究结果确立了 STING-IFN-I 信号轴作为生理伤害感受的关键调节器和治疗慢性疼痛的有前途的新靶点。