Expression of toll-like receptor-2 and toll-like receptor-4 in peripheral blood monocytes of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Objective: To investigate the changes of toll like receptors-2 (TLR2)and toll like receptors-4 (TLR4)on the surface of CD14⁺ monocytes in the peripheral blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods: The expression rate and intensity of TLR2 and TLR4 on the CD14⁺ monocytes in the peripheral blood of 75 patients with SLE and 44 normal controls were determined by flow cytometry.The TLR2 and TLR4 expression rates,the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) and the related clinical and laboratory indicators were analyzed.Results: The expression rate and MFI of TLR2 and TLR4 on CD14⁺ monocytes in the peripheral blood of SLE patients were lower than that of the control group,and the TLR4 in SLE patients with CD14⁺monocyte expression was higher than that of the normal controls,but the MFI of TLR4 was lower than that of normal subjects (P<0.01).The expression rate of TLR2 was inversely correlated with SLE disease activity index (P<0.01).Conclusions: There is difference in the expression pattern of TLR2 and TLR4 between SLE group and the health control.The results indicate that TLR2 and TLR4 may be involved both in the initiation stage and pathogenetic condition of SLE.