Necessity of oligonucleotide aggregation for toll-like receptor 9 activation

Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), a member of the interleukin-1 (IL-1) family of pathogen-associated molecular pattern receptors, is activated by unmethylated CpG-containing sequences in bacterial DNA or synthetic oligonucleotides (ODNs) in the endosomal compartment. The stimulation of an IL-1 response is thought to require the aggregation of its receptor. By analogy, we postulated that the potency of a TLR9 ligand should depend first on its ability to enter cells and gain access to TLR9 and second on its capacity to form a multimeric complex capable of cross-linking these receptors. Previously, we selected from a random library a series of phosphodiester ODNs with enhanced ability to permeate cells. Here, we studied the structural requirements for these penetrating ODNs to elicit a functional TLR9 response, as assessed by cytokine production from bone marrow-derived mouse mononuclear cells. The presence of a prototypic murine immunostimulatory DNA hexameric sequence (purine-purine-CG-pyrimidine-pyrimidine) in the ODNs was not sufficient for stimulation. In addition, the TLR9-activating ODNs had to have the ability to form aggregates and often to form secondary structures near the core CpG motifs. Multimerization was promoted by the presence of a guanine-rich 3'-terminus. The phosphodiester ODNs with CpG motifs that did not aggregate antagonized the effects of the multimeric TLR9 activators. These findings suggest that an optimal TLR9 agonist needs to contain a spatially distinct multimerization domain and a receptor binding CpG domain. This concept may prove useful for the design of new TLR9-modulating agents.