Song X, Aw JTM, Ma F, Cheung MF, Leung D, Herrup K.

J Neurosci. 2021 Sep 28:JN-RM-0845-21. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0845-21.2021.

DNA repair inhibition leads to active export of repetitive sequences to the cytoplasm triggering an inflammatory response.

Microglial cells accumulate cytoplasmic DNA by damage or inhibition of repair. Blocking DNA export reduces accumulation of cytoplasmic DNA and inflamation. Transcriptionally inactive sequences, AT-rich regions and repeated elements are enriched in the cytoplasmic DNA fraction.