[Expression and significance of toll-like receptors 7 and 8 in brain and lung tissues of death cases caused by EV71 infection].
OBJECTIVE
To study the significance of toll-like receptors (TLR) -7 and -8 in the pathogenesis of infection caused by Enterovirus type 71 (EV71) through measuring the expression of TLR7 and TLR8 in brain and lung tissues from the death cases caused by EV71 infection.


METHODS
Nine children who died of EV71 infection (EV71 group) were selected as study subjects, and 7 children who died of accidents or non-infectious diseases were used as the control group. Brain and lung tissues from the death cases in both groups at autopsy were collected, and immunohistochemistry was applied to detect the expression of TLR7 and TLR8 in lung and brain tissues in both groups. Integrated optical density (IOD) was applied for semi-quantitative analysis of the expression of TLR7 and TLR8.


RESULTS
Immunohistochemical results showed that the expression of TLR7 and TLR8 in lung and brain tissues was strongly positive in the EV71 group, and the IOD values in the EV71 group were also significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the expression of TLR7 and TLR8 between lung and brain tissues in the EV71 group (P>0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
TLR7 and TLR8 are highly expressed in lung and brain tissues from the patients who die of severe EV71 infection, suggesting that TLR7 and TLR8 may be involved in the pathogenesis of brain and lung damages caused by severe EV71 infection.
Department of Pediatrics, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical College, Guilin, Guangxi 541001, China. ouweilin@163.com.
Bin
B
Li
Hui-Min
HM
Ma
Xiao-Xue
XX
Wang
Yun-Qian
YQ
Li
Hong-Bo
HB
Liu
Lian-Zhe
LZ
Hong
Xiong
X
Li
Wei-Hua
WH
Zheng
Wei-Lin
WL
Ou
D001921:Brain / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D016207:Cytokines / Q000502:physiology; D029821:Enterovirus A, Human; D004769:Enterovirus Infections / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology*; D051199:Toll-Like Receptor 7 / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*; D051200:Toll-Like Receptor 8 / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*
D016207:Cytokines; C495348:TLR7 protein, human; C495349:TLR8 protein, human; D051199:Toll-Like Receptor 7; D051200:Toll-Like Receptor 8