Cytosolic DNA structures produced by mismatch-repair deficiency coordinate anti-tumor immunity in colorectal cancer

Patients with the microsatellite instable (MSI) subtype of colorectal cancer (CRC) have better prognosis and immunotherapy response than patients with the chromosomally instable (CIN) subtype due to improved cytotoxic T cell responses from high neoantigen levels and production of the chemokines CXCL10 and CCL5 that recruit cytotoxic T cells. This high chemokine production in MSI CRCs is due to constitutive activation of the cytosolic DNA (cyDNA) sensor STING by specific features of MSI cyDNA that lead to more effective STING pathway activation. Here, we investigate the features of MSI and CIN cyDNA to identify structures that more effectively activate STING. We find that MSI cyDNA is enriched in G-quadruplexes which improve STING and CD8 ⁺ T cell activation. Additionally, MSI micronuclei are also more efficient at inducing chemokine expression than CIN micronuclei. However, micronuclei are less effective than free cyDNA at inducing anti-tumor immunity and instead lead to increased Treg activation and IL10 production. Overall, these data highlight the role of specific cyDNA structures in anti-tumor immunity and provide essential knowledge for improved design of therapeutic DNA-based STING agonists that could be combined with immune checkpoint therapies to improve the prognosis of poorly immunogenic tumors like CIN CRCs.