Oral medicine
Expression of Toll-like receptors 7, 8, and 9 in primary Sjögren's syndrome

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tripleo.2010.01.006Get rights and content

Objective

The objective of this study was to investigate the level of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 7, 8, and 9 in peripheral mononuclear blood cells (PMBCs) from patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and whether TLR7 and 9 exist in the parotid glands of pSS patients.

Methods

TLR7, 8, and 9 mRNA levels in PMBC from 37 pSS patients and 24 controls were determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction. TLR7- and TLR9-positive cells in parotid glands from 20 pSS patients and 10 controls were observed using immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed by Student t test.

Results

TLR7 and TLR9 mRNA levels were 2.17- and 2.33-fold higher in pSS patients than control subjects, respectively (P < .05), whereas TLR8 levels were not. TLR7- and TLR9-positive cells of the pSS group were localized in the epithelial islands, lymphocytes, and ductal epithelial cells of the parotid glands and were more abundant than the TLR7- and TLR9-positive cells that were only localized to the ductal epithelial cells of parotid glands (P < .05).

Conclusion

TLR7 and TLR9 mRNA levels are up-regulated in the PMBC of pSS patients, and TLR7- and TLR9-positive cells exist in the epithelial islands, lymphocytes, and ductal epithelial cells of the parotid glands of individuals affected by pSS, but are limited to the ductal epithelial cells of controls.

Section snippets

Subjects

From February 2006 to August 2006, 37 patients with pSS and 24 control subjects were recruited from the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ninth Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, to participate in the study. The study protocol was approved by the Committee of Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects. All patients with pSS (36 women and 1 man; age range 23 to 70 years [mean 49.00 ± 12.74

Up-regulated TLR7 and TLR9 mRNA levels in PMBC with pSS

Using real-time PCR, we found that the mean value of −ΔΔCt of TLR7 with pSS was significantly higher (6.87 ± 1.29) compared with 5.75 ± 1.05 in the control blood samples (P = .0008). The ratio of TLR7 mRNA in the pSS group to the control group was 2.17 (Fig. 1, A, and 2). The mean value of −ΔΔCt of TLR8 with pSS was 8.62 ± 1.89 compared with 9.18 ± 1.46 in control samples. The ratio of TLR8 levels in the pSS group to the control group (Fig. 1, B, and 2) was 0.68 (P = .223). The mean value of

Discussion

TLR expression has been implicated in diverse cell types such as airway and gut epithelial cells, B cells, mast cells, natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells (DCs), regulatory T cells, macrophages, monocytes, neutrophils, and endothelial cells. The expression of TLR in diverse cell types illustrates their distinct functional roles in innate as well as adaptive immune responses. The diversity and specificity in the recognition of a wide range of molecular motifs and chemical structures by

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    This work was supported by the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai (08DZ2271100) and the Shanghai Leading Academic Discipline Project (Project Number: S30206).

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