Adjuvant is an essential component in subunit vaccines. Many agonists of pathogen recognition receptors have been developed as potent adjuvants to optimize the immunogenicity and efficacy of vaccines. Recently discovered cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of interferon genes (cGAS-STING) pathway has attracted much attention as it is a key mediator for modulating immune responses. Vaccines adjuvanted with STING agonists are found to mediate a robust immune defense against infections and cancer. In this review, we first discuss the mechanisms of STING agonists in the context of vaccination. Next, we present recent progress in novel STING agonist discovery and the delivery strategies. We next highlight recent work in optimizing the efficacy while minimizing toxicity of STING agonist-assisted subunit vaccines for protection against infectious diseases or treatment of cancer. Finally, we share our perspectives of current issues and future directions in further developing STING agonists for adjuvanting subunit vaccines.

佐剂是亚单位疫苗的重要组成部分。许多病原体识别受体激动剂已被开发为有效的佐剂，以优化疫苗的免疫原性和功效。最近发现的干扰素基因环 GMP-AMP 合成酶刺激物 (cGAS-STING) 通路因其是调节免疫反应的关键介质而备受关注。发现以 STING 激动剂为佐剂的疫苗可介导针对感染和癌症的强大免疫防御。在这篇综述中，我们首先讨论了 STING 激动剂在疫苗接种中的作用机制。接下来，我们介绍了新型 STING 激动剂发现和递送策略的最新进展。接下来，我们将重点介绍近期在优化 STING 激动剂辅助亚单位疫苗的功效同时最大限度地降低毒性以预防传染病或治疗癌症方面的工作。最后，我们分享了我们对进一步开发用于辅助亚单位疫苗的 STING 激动剂的当前问题和未来方向的看法。