CpG-DNA, Mouse

Bacterial DNA is known to induce acute inflammatory responses. Bacterial DNA acts as a pathogen-associated molecular pattern by virtue of a 20-fold greater frequency of unmethylated CG dinucleotides found in microbial DNA versus vertebrate DNA. Cellular activation by deoxy-cytidylate-phosphate-deoxy-guanylate (CpG)-DNA occurs via the Toll/IL-1R signal pathway. TLR9 appears to be a major component of the CpG-DNA receptor, acting by direct binding to CpG-DNA.
The synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) contain the proper CpG-DNA motif mimicing the immunostimulatory effects of bacterial DNA. The human optimal CpG motif GTCGTT differs from the optimal mouse CpG motif GACGTT. Non CpG-DNA has been shown to compete with CpG-DNA in in vitro stimulation experiments. This mouse CpG is a 20-mer ODN has the following sequence: 5′-tccatgacgttcctgatgct-3′. Regular letters represent phosphorothiorate linkage.