| Popis: |
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 7, 8, and 9 are expressed in the endosomes of immune cells, recognize nucleic acid molecular patterns of viruses and bacteria, and induce innate and adaptive immune responses to the infections. While this immune surveillance is important for host protection under normal physiological conditions, under certain pathological conditions these TLRs have been shown to recognize immune complexes containing self nucleic acids, leading to aberrant TLR activation, and to contribute to the progression of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. This indicates that antagonism of TLRs could be a novel approach for potential treatment of autoimmune diseases. During the development of therapeutic antisense oligonucleotides (ASO), it was observed that certain oligonucleotide sequences in combination with certain ASO chemical modifications acted as antagonists of specific TLRs, thereby inhibiting the TLR-mediated immune cascade. In this chapter, we have described studies of these novel synthetic oligonucleotides that act as antagonists of TLR7, 8, and 9, as well as potential therapeutic applications. |
