Patent ID: 8377898

Claim:
A method for reducing anti-DNA antibody levels in a vertebrate having lupus, such method comprising administering to the vertebrate an immune regulatory oligonucleotide (IRO) compound in a pharmaceutically effective amount, wherein the IRO comprises at least two oligonucleotides linked by a non-nucleotide linker at their 3′ ends or by a functionalized sugar or by a functionalized nucleobase via a non-nucleotide linker, wherein at least one oligonucleotide has the structure 5′-N m —N 3 N 2 N 1 CGN 1 N 2 N 3 —N m -3′ wherein: CG is an oligonucleotide motif that is CpG, C*pG, C*pG* or CpG*, wherein C is cytosine, C* is a pyrimidine nucleotide derivative, G is guanosine, and G* is a purine nucleotide derivative; N 1 is a modified nucleotide that suppresses the activity of the oligonucleotide motif selected from the group consisting of 2′-substituted ribonucleoside, 2′-O-substituted ribonucleoside, 2′-substituted arabinoside, and 2′-O-substituted arabinoside; N 2 —N 3 and/or N 1 —N 3 , at each occurrence, is independently i) a nucleotide, ii) a nucleotide derivative, or iii) a modified nucleotide that suppresses the activity of the oligonucleotide motif selected from the group consisting of 2′-substituted ribonucleoside, 2′-O-substituted ribonucleoside, 2′-substituted arabinoside, and 2′-O-substituted arabinoside; N m and N m , at each occurrence, is independently a nucleotide, nucleotide derivative or non-nucleotide linkage; and provided that the compound contains less than 3 consecutive guanosine nucleotides; wherein the oligonucleotide motif would he immune stimulatory but for the one or more modified nucleotides that suppresses the activity of the oligonucleotide motif; and wherein m is a number from 0 to about 30 and wherein the IRO is an antagonist of an agonist of TLR7, TLR8 and/or TLR9.