Mechanism of Action of Inhibitory CpG Oligonucleotides

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The CpG motifs of bacterial DMA are among the microbial molecular patterns recognized as "danger signals" by our innate immune system, requiring Toll-Like Receptor (TLR) 9. Short synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODN) have facilitated studies of structure-function relationships. The ability of stimulatory (ST-) ODN to activate B cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells directly, thus triggering humoral and TH1 immunity together, gives them valuable potential roles as vaccine adjuvants and as therapy in cancer and allergy. Changing as few as 2 bases converts a strong ST-ODN into an inhibitor (IN-ODN) that blocks TLR9 but not the other TLRs. With support from the current grant the sequence requirements for IN- ODN action in mouse cells have been defined. Only 3 pairs of positions out of 15 determine IN-ODN activity. The same panel of IN-ODN can block the ST-ODN preferred by B cells (Type B) and non-B cells (Type A). We request continued support in order to address these questions: 1) Do IN-ODN compete with ST-ODN for TLR9 binding? 2) Does the strength of binding of ST-ODN and IN-ODN for TLR9 determine their biologic activity? 3) Do ST-ODN or IN-ODN tie TLR9 molecules together? Does the ability of ODN to aggregate with themselves or each other allow them to do this? 4) Where in the cell does the competition between ST-ODN and IN-ODN take place? 5) Can IN-ODN block ST-ODN activity in vivo? Do the same subtle structural requirements apply? Examples to be used are a model of ODN-induced "septic shock" and an inflammatory colitis in mice. 6) What are the IN-ODN structural requirements for human cells? Do they differ between ODN types? The answers to these questions are pertinent both to understanding the mechanism of ODN responses and to developing further applications to human disease, especially the prospect of treating lupus and rheumatoid arthritis with IN-ODN.