Journal of Cystic Fibrosis
Volume 4, Issue 3 , Pages 193-196, September 2005

Overrepresentation of immunostimulatory CpG motifs in Burkholderia genomes

Laboratorium voor Farmaceutische, Microbiologie, Universiteit Gent, Harelbekestraat 72, B-9000 Gent, Belgium

Received 17 January 2005; received in revised form 2 February 2005; accepted 23 March 2005.

Abstract 

Pulmonary infections with Burkholderia cepacia complex organisms contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), partially due to the intense inflammatory response of the host to the presence of bacteria and their byproducts. In the present study we show that Burkholderia genomes contain a large number of immunostimulatory CpG motifs. This is mainly because of their large genome size. This suggests that DNA from Burkholderia sp. has the potential to cause significant inflammatory response. Whether this contributes significantly to the airway inflammation often observed in infected CF patients remains to be determined.

Keywords: Burkholderia cepacia complex, Cystic fibrosis, Immunostimulatory DNA, CpG motif

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PII: S1569-1993(05)00034-2

doi:10.1016/j.jcf.2005.03.001

Journal of Cystic Fibrosis
Volume 4, Issue 3 , Pages 193-196, September 2005

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