Expression of TLR-2 in hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with tumour proliferation, angiogenesis and Caspase-3 expression.
Pathol Res Pract
; 216(8): 152980, 2020 Aug.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32703481
ABSTRACT
AIMS:
Unlike other Toll-like receptors (TLRs), the role of toll like receptor 2 (TLR-2) in the pathogenesis of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not well studied. We, therefore, set out to investigate the expression of TLR-2 in different chronic liver disease states along with other markers of cell death, cellular proliferation and tissue vascularisation METHODS ANDRESULTS:
Immunohistochemistry was performed on liver tissue microarrays comprising hepatitis, cirrhosis and HCC patient samples using antibodies against TLR-2, Ki-67, Caspase-3 and VEGF. This was done in order to characterise receptor expression and translocation, apoptosis, cell proliferation and vascularisation. Cytoplasmic TLR-2 expression was found to be weak in 5/8 normal liver cases, 10/19 hepatitis cases and 8/21 cirrhosis patients. Moderate to strong TLR-2 expression was observed in some cases of hepatitis and cirrhosis. Both, nuclear and cytoplasmic TLR-2 expression was present in HCC with weak intensity in 11/41 cases, and moderate to strong staining in 19/41 cases. Eleven HCC cases were TLR-2 negative. Surprisingly, both cytoplasmic and nuclear TLR-2 expression in HCC were found to significantly correlate with proliferative index (r = 0.24 and 0.37), Caspase-3 expression (r = 0.27 and 0.38) and vascularisation (r = 0.56 and 0.23). Further, nuclear TLR-2 localisation was predominant in HCC, whereas cytoplasmic expression was more prevalent in hepatitis and cirrhosis. Functionally, treatment of HUH7 HCC cells with a TLR-2 agonist induced the expression of cellular proliferation and vascularisation markers CD34 and VEGF.CONCLUSIONS:
Our results demonstrate a positive correlation between the expression of TLR-2 and other markers of proliferation and vascularisation in HCC which suggests a possible role for TLR-2 in HCC pathogenesis.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Biomarcadores Tumorais
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Carcinoma Hepatocelular
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Receptor 2 Toll-Like
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Neoplasias Hepáticas
Tipo de estudo:
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Pathol Res Pract
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article