Defining the Immunomodulatory Determinants of 3-mer Oligonucleotides on TLR7 and TLR8 sensing

Chemical modifications such as 2′-O-methyl (2′-OMe) are central to the efficacy and tolerability of RNA therapeutics. We recently identified that 2′-OMe RNA fragments as short as three nucleotides can exert opposing effects on Toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8) sensing in a motif-dependent manner. This discovery raises important considerations for degradation products of chemically modified RNA therapeutics, which may generate such immunologically active fragments. Here, leveraging their short length, we systematically map how base and sugar modifications within 3-mer oligonucleotides regulate TLR7 and TLR8 responses, and we resolve the structural basis for both TLR8 potentiation and TLR7/8 antagonism by RNA fragments. Building on these insights, we report the development of a dual TLR7/8 inhibitory oligonucleotide with therapeutic potential in autoimmune disease. Together, these findings provide unprecedented resolution of the immunomodulatory properties of oligonucleotide modifications on TLR7/8 and establish 3-mer oligonucleotides as the shortest functional class of RNA therapeutics described to date.