Cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) motifs are sensitizing agents for lipopolysaccharide in toxic shock model.

Objective: Unmethylated cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) oligodeoxynucleotides are highly frequent motifs in bacterial DNA and rare in the mammalian genome. They are potent inducers of inflammatory cytokines and act synergistically with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for the induction of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) production in vivo. It has therefore been suggested that innate immune reaction to bacterial unmethylated CpG motifs might contribute to the development of septic shock.