High frequency of polymorphism Arg753Gln of the Toll-like receptor-2 gene detected by a novel allele-specific PCR.
The recently described family of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) plays a major role in innate immunity by mediating inflammatory reactions against a wide array of pathogens. TLR-2 is reported to interact with various bacterial partial structures including lipoproteins, peptidoglycan, and lipoteichoic acid. Two polymorphisms of the TLR-2 gene have recently been described: Arg753Gln, correlated with the incidence of sepsis in a white population, and Arg677Trp, correlated with the incidence of lepromatous leprosy in an Asian population. Both polymorphisms, when inserted into expression vectors encoding for human TLR-2, reduced stimulation of Chinese hamster ovary cells by synthetic lipopeptides. We furthermore developed a rapid and inexpensive method for the detection of both single nucleotide polymorphisms based on restriction fragment length polymorphism. While no individuals carrying the Arg677Trp SNP were identified in a large group of whites, 9.4% of the study population were found to be heterozygous for the Arg753Gln polymorphism. This ratio is significantly higher than previously reported, and therefore detection of this polymorphism among patients may yield important information for the assessment of risk profiles regarding susceptibility to bacterial infections.
Institut für Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Charité, Medizinische Fakultät, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Dorotheenstrasse 96, 10098, Berlin, Germany.
Nicolas W J
NW
Schröder
Corinna
C
Hermann
Lutz
L
Hamann
Ulf B
UB
Göbel
Thomas
T
Hartung
Ralf R
RR
Schumann
D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D016466:CHO Cells; D006224:Cricetinae; D017931:DNA Primers; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors
D017931:DNA Primers; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C495342:TLR2 protein, human; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors