Immune responsiveness, tolerance and dsRNA: implications for traditional paradigms

Double-stranded (ds)RNA motifs are central to immune regulation and block tolerance to tumor-associated, self- and foreign antigens. In addition, they could explain why DNA vectors encoding self-replicating mRNA (replicons) are more immunogenic than conventional DNA vaccines. Accumulating evidence on the immunomodulatory roles of dsRNAs warrants a reconsideration of various models of immune homeostasis.