Immunostimulatory CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides cause extramedullary murine hemopoiesis

Bacterial DNA and the synthetic CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) derived thereof have attracted attention because they activate cells of the adaptive immune system (lymphocytes) and the innate immune system (APCs) in a sequence-dependent manner. Here, we addressed whether CpG-ODNs affect hemopoiesis. Challenging mice with immunostimulatory CpG-ODN sequences led to transient splenomegaly, with a maximum increase of spleen weight at day 6. The induction of splenomegaly by CpG-ODNs was sequence-specific, dose-dependent, and associated with an increase in splenic cell count, in numbers of granulocyte-macrophage CFUs (GM-CFUs), and early erythroid progenitors (burst-forming units-erythroid). The transfer of spleen cells from CpG-ODN-pretreated animals into lethally irradiated syngeneic mice yielded an increase of spleen CFUs. Furthermore, the challenge of sublethally irradiated mice with CpG-ODNs caused radioprotective effects, in that recovery of GM-CFUs and cytotoxic T cell function was enhanced. The increase in GM-CFU and CTL function correlated with an enhanced resistance to Listeria infection in irradiated mice. We conclude from these data that CpG-ODNs trigger extramedullary hemopoiesis, and that this finding could be of therapeutic relevance in myelosuppression.