title: Eczema and food allergy in an Italian pediatric cohort: no association with TLR-2 and TLR-4 polymorphisms.
abstract: Recent studies have indicated that Toll-like receptor polymorphisms or their impaired signalling, specifically TLR-2 and TLR-4, were correlated with a higher risk for allergy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the associations of TRL-2 and TRL-4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and atopic traits in a cohort of 159 Italian allergic children (102 affected by eczema and 57 by IgE-mediated food allergy) and 147 healthy controls recruited in Rome, Italy. DNA was isolated from the peripheral blood and TLR-2 R753Q/TLR-4 D299G polymorphisms were determined by TaqMan MGB probes using Real-Time PCR technique. In the control group, the TLR-2 polymorphism R753Q had a prevalence of 2.5% while the frequency of the TLR-4 D299G was 12%. None of the 159 allergic patients showed the R753Q SNP. By contrast, 7/57 patients with food allergy (12%) and 6/102 subjects with eczema (6%) carried the TLR-4 mutation. In our cohort, no evidence of correlation between TLR-2 or TLR-4 polymorphism and eczema and food allergy incidence and/or severity was found. Further studies are needed to clarify the possible role of TLR-2 and TLR-4 polymorphism in allergic disease, in Italian children.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ciucci
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cersosimo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pagnini
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Avitabile
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mancino
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Delle Fave
authors.forename: V D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Corleto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004485:Eczema / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2 / Q000235:genetics*; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C495342:TLR2 protein, human; C495345:TLR4 protein, human; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4