Chimeric immunomodulatory compounds and methods of using the same—I

A chimeric immunostimulatory compound (CIC) comprising the structure N1-S1-N2-N3,

• wherein N1, N2, and N3 are independently selected nucleic acid moieties comprising 3 to 7 bases, at least one of N1, N2, and N3 has the sequence 5′-[(X)0-2]TCG[(X)2-4]-3′, wherein each X is an independently selected nucleotide;
• wherein S1 is a non-nucleic acid spacer moiety covalently bound to N1 and N2;
• S2 is a non-nucleic acid spacer moiety covalently bound to N2 and N3;
• S1 and S2 are the same or different;
• each of S1 and S2 comprises hexaethylene glycol (HEG), triethylene glycol (TEG), propyl, or butyl;
• 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 and (ii) the ability to stimulate interferon-alpha (IFN-α) production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.