Immunostimulatory sequence oligonucleotides and methods of using the same
The invention provides immunomodulatory polynucleotides and methods for immunomodulation of individuals using the immunomodulatory polynucleotides.
1. An immunomodulatory polynucleotide, comprising:
5′ TCGAACGTTCGAACGTTCGAACG-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 175),
wherein the polynucleotide comprises at least one phosphorothioate linkage.
2. The immunomodulatory polynucleotide of claim 1 , wherein all nucleotide linkages are phosphorothioate linkages.
3. The immunomodulatory polynucleotide of claim 1 , wherein at least one nucleoside comprises a modified base.
4. The immunomodulatory polynucleotide of claim 3 , wherein the modified base is 7-deazaguanine or 7-deaza-8-azaguanine.
5. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient and the immunomodulatory polynucleotide of claim 4 .
6. A method of modulating an immune response in a human comprising: administering the pharmaceutical composition of claim 5 to the human in an amount sufficient to modulate an immune response in the human.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the human is receiving a prophylactic vaccine or a therapeutic vaccine.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the therapeutic vaccine comprises tumor associated antigens and/or tumor cells.
9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the method further comprises administration of one or more additional therapeutic agents.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the one or more additional therapeutic agents comprise an anti-tumor antibody, and the anti-tumor antibody is a monoclonal anti-tumor antibody, fragment, or derivative thereof.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the one or more additional therapeutic agents comprise an immunotherapeutic agent selected from the group consisting of cytokines, adjuvants and antibodies.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the one or more additional therapeutic agents is selected from the group consisting of anti-tumor antibodies, chemotherapy regimens and radiation treatments.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the anti-tumor antibodies comprise rituximab or trastuzumab.