CGAS and viral infectious disease: During viral infection, virus pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) are recognized by pathogen recognition receptors (PRRs) that include toll-like receptors (TLRs) (11), retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I)-like receptors (RLRs), NOD-like receptors (12), interferon-γ-inducible protein 16 (IFI16), and cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) (13).