Expression of Toll-Like Receptors 2, 4 and 9 in Patients with Guillain-Barré Syndrome

Abstract

Objective: A myriad of transcription factors and inflammatory cytokines have been described to participate in the pathogenesis of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). However, the innate immunity components – Toll-like receptors (TLRs) – have never been explored in this disease. We therefore investigated the expression of TLR2, 4 and 9 in the peripheral circulation of GBS patients as well as healthy controls. Methods: Twenty-one GBS patients and 21 healthy donors participated in this study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were used for mRNA and protein analysis of TLR-related molecules. Also, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from different subjects were incubated with different TLR agonists and the subsequent IFN-γ secretion was determined. Results: Expression of TLR2, 4 and 9 as well as their related signaling molecules were higher in GBS patients compared to healthy controls. Disability scores of GBS patients had a strong positive correlation with the high levels of expression of TLR2, 4 and 9. Conclusions: The TLR signaling pathway may be involved in the pathogenesis of GBS.

Toll-like receptor 2 and -4 are involved in the pathogenesis of the Guillain-Barré syndrome

“…Patients with GBS were divided into two groups (mild and severe) according to their clinical manifestation, and their mRNA levels were compared using Student's t-test. In accordance with the findings of Wang et al (19), the results of the current study demonstrated the same trend of alterations between TLR2, TLR4 and NF-κB mRNA and the condition of the patients with GBS. However, no significant difference was identified in MyD88 mRNA levels between patients with mild and severe GBS.…”

“…In patients with GBS, Wang et al (19) found that TLR2, TLR4 and TLR9 mRNA levels were significantly increased. In accordance with the results of studies using the murine EAN model, it was suggested that TLR2, TLR4 and TLR9 may be involved in the pathogenesis of GBS.…”

“…Wang et al (19) indicated that TLR mRNA levels had a marked positive correlation with the disability scores of patients with GBS. However, another study reported that the severity of clinical symptoms had a negative correlation with TLR2, TLR4 and TLR6 mRNA expression levels (24).…”

“…A previous study demonstrated that TLRs and their signal transduction pathway may be involved in the pathogenesis of GBS (19). In the present study, PCR assays were performed using PBMCs from patients with GBS and healthy controls to analyze the mRNA levels of TLR2, TLR4, MyD88 and NF-κB.…”

Untitled

“…The data regarding expression of TLR2 in GBS is very limited. So far, one study showed significantly elevated TLR2 expression in sciatic nerves during GBS 36 . An increased expression of TLR2 had been shown in synovial tissues of patients with RA 37 .…”