Enhanced Immunostimulatory Properties in CpG-Oligonucleotides Modified by Gold Nanoparticles

Whether the immunostimulatory effects of CpG-oligonucleotides （CpG ODNs） could be enhanced by the use of gold nanoparticles （Au-NP） was investigated.The CpG ODNs were modified by the Au-NP （CpG /Au-NP） and their uptake and distribution in murine N9 microglial cells were studied.The immunostimulatory effects of CpG /Au-NP on N9 cells,human B cells and plamacytoid dendritic cells （pDCs） were examined.Results showed that the uptake of CpG /Au-NP in N9 cells was much higher than that of CpG ODNs and CpG /Au-NP localized in the cytoplasm of N9 cells.The amount of TNF-α and IL12p40 in N9 cells was increased greatly by the use of Au-NP.And the amount of IL-6 in B cells and IFN-α in pDCs was also significantly increased,while the activation of B cells was not changed.These results reveal that the Au-NP can be used as a delivery media for the oligonucleotides-based therapeutics.