Pattern recognition receptor agonist prodrugs and methods of use thereof

1. A selective pattern recognition receptor (PRR) agonist, comprising:

a nucleic acid agonist; and

a macromolecule conjugated to the nucleic acid agonist,

wherein the macromolecule has a molecular weight of at least 550 Da, and removal of at least a portion of the macromolecule permits binding of the agonist to a PRR.

2. The selective PRR agonist of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid agonist comprises a nucleic acid duplex having at least two phosphoryl groups attached to a 5′ end thereof.

3. The selective PRR agonist of claim 2 , wherein the nucleic acid duplex comprises a double stranded nucleic acid molecule.

4. The selective PRR agonist of claim 2 , wherein the nucleic acid duplex comprises a single-stranded nucleic acid molecule.

5. The selective PRR agonist of claim 4 , wherein the single-stranded nucleic acid molecule comprises a hairpin loop RNA molecule.

6. The selective PRR agonist of claim 2 , wherein the at least two phosphoryl groups are selected from the group consisting of a diphosphate group and a triphosphate group.

7. The selective PRR agonist of claim 1 , further comprising an environmentally selective linker conjugating the macromolecule to the nucleic acid agonist.

8. The selective PRR agonist of claim 7 , wherein the environmentally selective linker is selected from the group consisting of reactive oxygen species (ROS) sensitive linking agents, pH sensitive linking agents, redox sensitive linking agents, enzymatically cleavable linking agents, light sensitive linking agents, and combinations thereof.

9. The selective PRR agonist of claim 8 , wherein the redox sensitive linking agents are selected from the group consisting of glutathione sensitive linkers, nitroreductase/NADH sensitive linkers, and combinations thereof.

10. The selective PRR agonist of claim 8 , wherein the pH sensitive linking agents are selected from the group consisting of hydrazone, silyl ethers, other low pH sensitive linking agents, and combinations thereof.

11. The selective PRR agonist of claim 8 , wherein the enzymatically cleavable linking agents are selected from the group consisting of matrix metalloproteinases, dipeptide/p-aminobenzyl alcohol systems, lysosomal, beta-glucuronidase, intracellular esterases, and combinations thereof.

12. The selective PRR agonist of claim 2 , wherein the macromolecule is conjugated to a 3′ end of the nucleic acid duplex, the 3′ end that the macromolecule is conjugated to and the 5′ end that the at least two phosphoryl groups are attached to being at a single terminus of the nucleic acid duplex.

13. The selective PRR agonist of claim 12 , wherein the agonist is a retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) agonist.

14. The selective PRR agonist of claim 2 , wherein the macromolecule is conjugated to one of the phosphoryl groups attached to the 5′ end of the nucleic acid duplex.

15. A method of selectively activating a pattern recognition receptor (PRR), the method comprising:

administering the selective PRR agonist of claim 1 to a subject; and

cleaving at least a portion of the macromolecule conjugated to the nucleic acid agonist;

wherein the cleaving of at least a portion of the macromolecule permits the agonist to bind a PRR.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising an environmentally selective linker conjugating the macromolecule to the nucleic acid agonist.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the cleaving step comprises passively or actively subjecting the agonist to an environmental stimulus corresponding to the environmentally selective linker.

18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising a carrier system attached to the agonist.