IFNB1 and infection: Indeed, of the nine known HCMV STING antagonists, seven have had their effects on IFN-β pathway suppression during infection quantitated by either small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown or with viral mutants, and all seven have shown only small increases in IFN-β mRNA induction in the absence of a single STING antagonist (11, –, 13, 18, 19, 21, 22), similar in magnitude to effects observed in this study.