STING1 and bacterial infectious disease: One proposed hypothesis suggests that, in response to bacterial infection, type I IFN is synthesized and drives the expression of IFN regulatory factor 1 (IRF1) via an autocrine pathway through activation of the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)/stimulator of IFN genes (STING)/STING-TANK binding kinase 1 (TBK1)/IRF3 axis (27).