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. 2015 Apr;9(4):1455-1459.
doi: 10.3892/etm.2015.2258. Epub 2015 Feb 4.

Expression of Toll-like receptors in the mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis

Yujing Fan  1 , Bingrong Liu  1
Affiliations

Expression of Toll-like receptors in the mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis

Yujing Fan et al. Exp Ther Med. 2015 Apr.

Abstract

Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) have a high risk of developing colorectal cancer. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression pattern of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the colonic mucosa of patients with UC. Colonic mucosal biopsy specimens were collected during colonoscopy from 30 patients with UC and 30 patients with normal findings as controls. The protein and mRNA expression levels of TLRs 1-4 and TLR9 were measured by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, respectively. The results showed that the mRNA and protein expression of TLR2, TLR4 and TLR9, but not TLR1 and TLR3, was significantly increased in the colonic mucosa of patients with UC compared with that in the normal controls. TLR (TLR2, TLR4 and TLR9) immunoreactivity was found in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells in the mucosa, and occasionally in the endothelium of small vessels of the stromal tissues. In conclusion, TLR2, TLR4 and TLR9 expression may be important in the biological pathogenesis of UC. TLR alterations in the innate response system may contribute to the pathogenesis of UC.

Keywords: Toll-like receptor; mucosa; ulcerative colitis.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
TLR protein immunoreactivity in the mucosa of (A1–C1) control subjects and (A2–C2) patients with UC: (A) TLR2, (B) TLR4 and (C) TLR9. Immunoreactivity was generally observed in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells and ocasionally in the endothelium of small vessels of the stromal tissues. Magnification, ×400. TLR, Toll-like receptor; UC, ulcerative colitis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
TLR mRNA expression in the mucosal biopsies of controls and patients with UC. **P<0.05, versus controls. TLR, Toll-like receptor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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