Toll-like receptor 2 gene polymorphisms in Chinese Holstein cattle and their associations with bovine tuberculosis.

This study evaluated whether there was an association between polymorphisms within the Toll-like receptor 2 gene (TLR2) of Chinese Holstein cattle and susceptibility to bovine tuberculosis (BTB). In a case-control study including 210 BTB cases and 237 control cattle, we found only two common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the entire coding region of the TLR2 gene, A631G (rs95214857) and T1707C (rs1388116488). Additionally, the allele and genotype distributions of A631G and T1707C were not different between case and control groups, indicated that these SNPs were not associated with susceptibility to BTB. These results suggested that polymorphisms in the TLR2 gene might not play a significant role in the BTB risk in Chinese Holstein cattle.

Toll-like receptor 2 gene polymorphisms in Korean women with human papillomavirus-related cervical neoplasia.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) gene polymorphisms and human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cervical neoplasia in Korean women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Peripheral blood samples collected from 127 patients with HPV-related cervical neoplasia and 175 healthy women were genotyped for the TLR2 -16934, +1350, intron1, and 3' untranslated region (UTR) polymorphisms using the polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism method. RESULTS: The TLR2 -16934 A/A, intron1 A/A, and +1350 T/C genotypes were more frequent in patients than in controls [odds ratio (OR) = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.302-3.475, p = 0.002; OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.168-3.169, p = 0.010; and OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.211-3.123, p = 0.006, respectively]. The frequencies of the TLR2 + 1350 C and 3'UTR G alleles were also higher in patients (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.236-3.121, p = 0.004 and OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.005-3.076, p = 0.046, respectively). The genotype frequencies of TLR2 -16934 A/A and intron1 A/A increased with increasing oncogenic risk of the HPV genotype, as follows. low-risk type < high-risk type < HPV-16 and/or HPV-18 type (p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides the first evidence that TLR2 gene polymorphisms are associated with high-risk type HPV-related cervical neoplasia and may play an important role in susceptibility to HPV infection. Further large-scale and functional studies are needed to confirm the role of TLR2 gene polymorphisms in HPV-related cervical neoplasia.

Polymorphisms of toll-like receptor 2 and 4 genes in Chagas disease

The aim of this study was to test the possible implication of toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and TLR4 gene polymorphisms in determining the susceptibility to Chagas' disease. Genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism in 475 individuals from Colombia, 143 seropositive with chagasic cardiomyopathy, 132 seropositive asymptomatic and 200 seronegative. The TLR2 arginine to glutamine substitution at residue 753(Arg753Gln) polymorphism was absent in the groups analyzed. The TLR4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms are in linkage disequilibrium and we observed a very low frequency of these polymorphisms in our study population (2.6 percent and 1.8 percent respectively). The overall TLR2 and TLR4 alleles and genotype distribution in seronegative and seropositive were not significantly different. We compared the frequencies between asymptomatic patients and those with chagasic cardiomyopathy and we did not observe any significant differences in the distribution of alleles or genotypes. In summary, this study corroborates the low frequency of TLR2 and TLR4 polymorphisms observed in other populations and suggest that these do not play an important role in Chagas' disease. The validation of these findings in independent cohorts is needed to firmly establish a role for TLR2 and TLR4 variants in Chagas' disease.