Indirect immunofluorescence technique to study expression of toll-like receptor 4 in chronic periodontitis.

AIM: The aim of this study was to analyze the expression level and localization of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 in gingival samples of healthy and chronic periodontitis subjects by indirect immunofluorescence technique (IFT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, gingival tissue samples were obtained from 25 healthy and 25 periodontitis individuals. The tissues were processed and the initial characterization was done by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The expression and localization of the TLR4 receptor were determined in the epithelial and connective layer cells of the gingival tissue using the indirect IFT. Immunofluorescence images were acquired and quantitative expression of TLRs was analyzed by calculating the percentage of cells showing positive results. RESULTS: We found that the healthy control group exhibited significantly lower values of TLR4 expression in comparison with the periodontitis patients. We also found that in patients with periodontitis the concentration of TLR4 was higher in the epithelium as compared to their expression in connective tissue cells. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggested a definite involvement of TLR4 in initiating and progression of an inflammatory response in periodontitis.

Analysis of Expression and Localization of TLR-2 by Immunofluorescent Technique in Healthy and Inflammed Oral Tissues.

INTRODUCTION: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are an important component of immune system. Among them, TLR-2 plays a dominant role in the oral tissues in initiating inflammation in chronic periodontitis. Not many studies have been done on quantitative expression of TLR-2 by using immunofluorescent techniques (IFT) in oral tissues. In this study, the expression and localisation of TLR-2 were detected in gingival tissues of chronic periodontitis patients and healthy individuals. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Immuno Fluorescent Technique (IFT) was used for the expression and localization of TLR-2 in gingival tissue samples from 25 chronic periodontitis patients and from 25 healthy controls. Haematoxylin and Eosin staining was also done for all the samples to determine the histological characteristics of the gingival tissue samples. RESULT: Both healthy and periodontitis gingival tissues expressed TLR-2. We found that the expression level of TLR-2 was higher in all the periodontitis patients than in healthy individuals. We also found out that the expression of TLR-2 was higher in the epithelial cells than in the connective tissue cells. CONCLUSION: These data suggest a definite involvement of TLR-2 in initiating an inflammatory response in periodontal tissues. More studies are required to define the mechanisms and expression levels of TLR-2 in oral health and diseases.