Abstract:

Objective   To investigate expression of Toll-like receptors 2 and 4(TLR2、TLR4) and nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB) in colonic mucosa of ulcerative colitis. Methods   Immunohistochemistry was performed to examine the expression of TLR2、TLR4 and NF-κB in colonic mucosa of UC (n=70). Normal mucosa of colon polyps was included as a control (n=44). Results   The expression of all three proteins in colonic mucosa of UC was higher than that in control (P＜0.01). Cell numbers with positive expression were parallel to the endoscopic classification grades in UC (P values＜0.05). Expression of the three proteins in active UC was significantly higher than in unactive UC (P values＜0.01). Further, the expression of NF-κB was positively correlated with TLR2 and TLR4(r=0.823, P＜0.01；r=0.752, P＜0.01, respectively). Conclusion   The elevated expression of TLR2、TLR4 and NF-κB in UC may play a role in UC pathogenesis and, hence, may be of clinical significance.

Key words: Ulcerative colitis; Toll-like receptor 2; Tolllike receptor 4; nuclear factor-κB