Targeting Macrophage STING O ‐GlcNAcylation via Small‐Molecule Allosteric Modulation for Psoriasis Therapy
STING undergoes distinct post-translational modifications in autoimmune disorders, particularly in psoriasis. However, selectively targeting these disease-associated STING modifications remains a major therapeutic challenge. Here, we show that macrophage STING O-GlcNAcylation is a critical driver of psoriatic inflammation and identify the natural small-molecule paeoniflorin (PF) as a selective inhibitor of STING O-GlcNAcylation. Mechanistically, PF engages the cyclic dinucleotide-binding domain (CBD) of STING, inducing an allosteric conformational shift that traps STING in an inactive open state. This allosteric mechanism sterically blocks O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) recruitment to STING, thereby suppressing STING O-GlcNAcylation and subsequent TBK1-dependent phosphorylation cascades. In vivo, PF markedly alleviates psoriatic skin inflammation, whereas myeloid-specific STING ablation substantially compromises its therapeutic efficacy. Critically, clinical analyses of patient-derived samples further support the relevance of STING O-GlcNAcylation to psoriasis. Together, our work uncovers macrophage STING O-GlcNAcylation as a critical regulatory checkpoint in psoriatic inflammation, highlighting a promising natural product-based strategy for targeting pathological STING signaling.
Authors
- Pengfei Tu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3553-1840)
- Fang‐Fang Zhuo
- Ke‐Wu Zeng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1082-6327)
- Lijuan Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2443-2524)
- Chuan‐Jian Lu
- Rui‐Zhi Zhao
- Wei Wang
- Yang Liu
- Cheng‐Chen Hou
- Ya‐Xuan Zhu
- Ling Li
Institutions
- Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine (CN)
- Peking University (CN)
- Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CN)
- Peking University First Hospital (CN)
- Peking University Third Hospital (CN)
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Science
- Published
- 2026-10-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.78257
- Primary Topic
- Psoriasis: Treatment and Pathogenesis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine
- National Key Research and Development Program of China