TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) and interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) are central regulators of type-I interferon induction during bacterial or viral infection. TBK1 was found to form complexes with distinct scaffolding proteins that appeared to target TBK1 to different subcellular compartments [Hemmi H et al 2004; Oganesyan G et al 2006; Chariot A et al 2002; Huang J et al 2005]. STING interacted with both TBK1 and IRF3. Once STING is stimulated, its C-terminus served as a signaling scaffold to recruit IRF3 anhd TBK1, which led to TBK1-dependent phosphorylation of IRF3. Phosphorylation of IRF3 promoted its dimerization and translocation to the nucleus, where it triggered the transcription of interferon stimulated genes (ISGs) (Tanaka Y and Chen ZJ 2012).