Human TLR gene family members are differentially expressed in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder

Purpose

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have an important role in the activation of both innate and adaptive immunity in response to pathogens and endogenous danger signals from damaged or dying cells. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between urothelial carcinoma (UC) and TLR expression.

Basic procedures

Real-time polymerase chain reaction evaluation was made of the messenger RNA expression of TLRs 1–10 in 24 UC samples and 46 nontumoral bladder tissue samples. The levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8) in the urine samples were also determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Main findings

TLR2–7 and TLR10 expressions were significantly higher in UC than in the control group (P<0.05 for all comparisons). No concordance was found between matched tumor tissue and urine samples in terms of TLR expression. IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 levels were significantly higher in urine specimens of patients with UC (P = 0.033, P = 0.001, and P = 0.008, respectively).

Principal conclusions

The results of this study demonstrated that the TLR gene expression profiles reflect the heterogeneity within UC. These results might also prompt further investigation to better understand the role of the TLR gene family expression in the tumor progression of UC.