[Expression of Toll like receptor 4 in peripheral-blood mononuclear cells of patients with acute cerebral infarction and its correlation with clinical subtypes and the severity of the disease].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the expression of Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) in peripheral-blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with acute cerebral infarction and its correlation with clinical subtypes and the severity of the disease.


METHODS
The levels of mRNA and protein of TLR4 in PBMC of 66 patients with acute cerebral infraction were examined by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and flow cytometry (FCM), respectively. Clinical neurological deficit score and OCSP (Oxford Community Stroke Project) clinical subtype were performed in the patients within 3 days after admission.


RESULTS
The expression of TLR4 in PBMC of patients with acute cerebral infraction (positive rate: 66.87+/-16.27%, fluorescence intensity: 11.62+/-4.39) was significantly higher than normal controls (P<0.01, respectively). 66 patients were divided into 4 groups based on OCSP. There were 9 patients with TACI, 39 patients with PACI, 7 patients with POCI, and 11 patients with LACI. The differences in the expression levels of TLR4 protein and mRNA in these groups have no statistic significance. Meanwhile, there were 27 mild cases, 30 median cases, and 9 severe cases according to the neurological deficit score. The differences in the expression levels of TLR4 protein and mRNA in these groups have statistic significance (P<0.05). The expression of TLR4 protein and mRNA were correlated positively with the severity of the disease (r=0.85, 0.87; P=0.01, 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
The increased expression of TLR4 may be associated with the progression of acute cerebral infarction. It may be a risk factor of acute cerebral infarction.
Liu
Zhou
Z
Department of Neurology, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400042, China. liuyangzhou@sina.com
Li
Jing-cheng
JC
Shi
Yong-zhong
YZ
D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4