CGAS and infection: Additionally, using a mutant HCMV unable to express UL83-encoded pp65, Biolatti et al. [64] showed that this protein might be involved in dampening IFN-β production in HFF cells, as it selectively binds to cGAS early during infection and prevents its interaction with STING, thus inactivating the cGAS/STING/IRF3 signaling axis.