title: Discovery of immunostimulatory CpG-DNA and its application to tuberculosis vaccine development.
abstract: DNA containing an unmethylated CpG motif has a potent immunostimulatory effect on the vertebrate immune system. Because such CpG motifs are relatively common in bacterial DNA, but rare in mammalian animal and plant DNA, they may be an evolutionary adaptation augmenting innate immunity, most likely in response to pathogens that replicate within the host cells, such as viruses and intracellular bacteria. Microbial infection induces innate immunity by triggering pattern-recognition systems. The infected cells produce proinflammatory cytokines that directly combat microbial invaders and express costimulating surface molecules, which develop adaptive immunity by inducing distinct T cell differentiation. Bacterial DNA with unmethylated CpG-DNA stimulates vertebrate immature immune cells to induce maturation and to produce TNF-alpha as well as Th1-type cytokines, IL-12 and IFN-gamma. Therefore, CpG-DNA functions as an adjuvant for regulating the initiation of Th1 differentiation. The roles of immunostimulatory CpG motifs in DNA vaccine developments and in therapeutic applications have been discussed.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan. saburo@nih.go.jp
authors.forename: Saburo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Toshiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nojima
authors.forename: Kiyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Umemori
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Phalen
authors.forename: David N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: McMurray
authors.forename: Etsuro
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kuramoto
authors.forename: Sumiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iho
authors.forename: Rumiko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Takauji
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohara
authors.forename: Sohkichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsuo
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tokunaga
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000276:immunology; D001500:BCG Vaccine / Q000276:immunology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D018899:CpG Islands / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D019444:Vaccines, DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001500:BCG Vaccine; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D019444:Vaccines, DNA