Methylation of a CpG dinucleotide at cytosine C5 (mCpG) is a major modification in vertebrate genomes associated with epigenetic gene silencing. CpG methylation recruits proteins which specifically recognise this motif and these methylated DNA binding proteins then recruit enzymes which chemically and physically alter chromatin, inducing transcriptional repression. Although most CpG motifs are ...

Oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) that contain unmethylated CpG dinucleotides trigger a strong innate immune response in vertebrates. CpG ODN show promise as vaccine adjuvants, anti-allergens, and immunoprotective agents in animal models. Their transition to clinical use requires the identification of motifs that are optimally stimulatory in humans. Analysis of hundreds of novel ODN resulted in the i...

BACKGROUND Bacterial DNA containing motifs of unmethylated CpG dinucleotides (CpG-ODN) initiate an innate immune response mediated by the pattern recognition receptor Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9). This leads in particular to the expression of proinflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta). TLR9 is expressed in human and murine pulmonary tissu...

Synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) with the CpG-motifs are recognized by toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), which elicits an immune response. Serum starvation of Raw264.7 cells increased tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) expression. However, treatment with CpG ODN reduced TRAIL expression as well as apoptosis by serum s...

Antigen-specific IgE plays an important role in the pathogenesis of allergic disorders. Immunostimulatory CpG motifs (CpG) in bacterial DNA or synthesized oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) are gaining recognition as potential immunomodulators for switching on protectiveT(h)1-mediated immunity and preventing or potentially inhibiting T(h)2-dependent allergic responses. To date, allergic models used in...

The human insulin-like growth factor type 2 receptor gene (IGF2R) is biallelically expressed in a variety of fetal and adult tissues. In contrast, the imprinted mouse Igf2r gene is expressed exclusively from the maternally inherited chromosome. The mouse gene contains two CpG islands that are methylated in a parent-specific manner. Methylation of the CpG island in the promoter region occurs on ...

Immunostimulatory CpG motifs in synthetic oligonucleotides can be effective adjuvants for the priming of CTLs. We first observed that a single male-specific peptide (KCSRNRQYL) (HY2) was more efficient than another male-specific peptide (WMHHNMDLI) (HY1) at priming IFN-gamma-secreting CTLs in vivo when combined with lipid A and CpG and that it also visibly precipitated CpG. The addition of the ...

Oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) containing unmethylated CpG motifs activate immune cells to produce cytokines. CpG ODNs protect mice against infections with intracellular bacteria by the induction of a T helper 1 (Th1) response. To determine the effect of CpG ODNs in pulmonary tuberculosis, mice were treated with CpG ODNs or control ODNs at the time of intranasal infection. CpG ODNs reduced mycoba...