Patent ID: 8597665

Claim:
A linear chimeric immunostimulatory compound (CIC) comprising the structure N 1 -S 1 -N 2 -S 2 -N 3 , wherein N 1 , N 2 , and N 3 are independently selected nucleic acid moieties, at least one of N 1 , N 2 , and N 3 has the sequence 5′-TCGY-3′, where Y is selected from the group consisting of XCGX, XTCG, XXCG, and CGXX, where each X is an independently selected nucleotide; wherein S 1 is a non-nucleic acid spacer moiety covalently bound to N 1 and N 2 ; S 2 is a non-nucleic acid spacer moiety covalently bound to N 2 and N 3 ; S 1 and S 2 are the same or different; each of S 1 and S 2 comprises hexaethylene glycol (HEG), triethylene glycol (TEG), propyl, butyl, or hexyl; and wherein said CIC has at least one immunostimulatory activity selected from the group consisting of (i) the ability to stimulate interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells or (ii) the ability to stimulate interferon-alpha (IFN-α) production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.