Patent ID: 8017591

Claim:
A non-coding nucleic acid molecule comprising; a partially single-stranded, dumbbell-shaped covalently closed chain of deoxyribonucleotide residues and contains one or more sequences of the base sequence N 1 N 2 CGN 3 N 4 in its single or double stranded region, where CG contains an unmethylated Cytosine, where N 1 N 2 is an element chosen from the group comprising GT, GG, GA, AT or AA, N 3 N 4 is an element chosen from the group comprising CT or TT, and C is deoxycytosine, G is deoxyguanosine, A is deoxyadenosine and T is deoxythymidine, wherein one or more substituents are covalently attached to said non-coding nucleic acid molecule.