Leading researchers review the activation of the mammalian immune system by bacterial DNA and its immunostimulatory sequences (ISS), and consider the applications of ISS in clinical medicine. The authors survey the latest findings concerning the receptor-recognition and signaling pathways triggered by ISS, the process of cell activation, and the potential vaccination strategies using ISS. Specific pharmaceutical applications discussed include infectious disease (Hepatitis B, HIV, and mycobacterial infections), allergy (asthma and conjunctivitis), cancer (lymphoma), and inflammation and...

This volume is a product of a collaborative effort and attempts to provide a wide and up-to-date coverage of information regarding the biology and on the potential application of immunostimulatory DNA. ISS hold great promise for influencing the immune response and the authors anticipate that the high efficacy and low toxicity observed in animal models will translate into success in a variety of human clinical applications.

nomenon 26]. Indeed, Krieg et al. 21] showed that the elimination of the CpG in a particular ODN invariably abolished immune stimulation, but changes in the ODN sequences that did not affect the CpG or the flanking bases did not alter the immuno stimulatory (IS) effect. Furthermore, they extended the initial observations of the IS effects to non-palindromic CpG-enriched ODN 21]. Subsequent studies showed that CpG-enriched ODN also induce the secretion of IL-6 and IL-12 19] and IFN-a 6, 27]. By adding or deleting various IS sequences (ISS)-ODN to or from different pDNAs, it was...

Leading researchers review the activation of the mammalian immune system by bacterial DNA and its immunostimulatory sequences (ISS), and consider the applications of ISS in clinical medicine. The authors survey the latest findings concerning the receptor-recognition and signaling pathways triggered by ISS , the process of cell activation, and the potential vaccination strategies using ISS. Specific pharmaceutical applications discussed include infectious disease (Hepatitis B, HIV, and mycobacterial infections), allergy (asthma and conjunctivitis), cancer (lymphoma), and inflammation and...