Importance of CpG dinucleotides in activation of natural IFN-α-producing cells by a lupus-related oligodeoxynucleotide

The oligodeoxyribonucleotide (ODN) 5'-TTTTCAATTCGAAGATGAAT-3' (ODN H), identified in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) serum, induced the production of interferon (IFN)-alpha in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) when combined with lipofectin. Flow cytometric analysis with staining for surface antigens and intracellular IFN-alpha, showed that the IFN-alpha -producing cells (IPC) were the natural IPC, also termed type 2 dendritic cell precursors (pDC2) or plasmacytoid monocytes. The importance of unmethylated CpG dinucleotides for the interferogenic activity of ODN was studied. Methylation of CpG impaired the activity of single-stranded (ss) ODN H, but increased that of the complementary ssODN I. Furthermore, CpG-methylated double-stranded (ds) ODN H-met-I-met lost, but hemimethylated dsODN H-I-met retained interferogenic activity. Inversion of the CpG to GpC had no effect on the interferogenic activity of ssODN H, increased that of ssODN I, however abolished the activity of dsODN H-I. Alteration of the CpG in ODN H to ApG and in the ODN I to CpT destroyed their activity. The induction of IFN-alpha is therefore sequence-specific, but unmethylated CpGs are not always required, especially not in ssODNs. Interferogenic DNA sequences could therefore be more frequent in eukaryotic genomes than previously thought and their capacity to activate natural IPC may have implications for immune responses to microbial antigens and nuclear autoantigens.