Abstract

Background — Innate immune reactions against bacteria and viruses have been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. To explore the molecular mechanism by which microbe recognition occurs in the artery wall, we characterized the expression of toll-like receptors (TLRs), a family of pathogen pattern recognition receptors, in atherosclerotic lesions. Methods and Results — Semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that of 9 TLRs, the expression of TLR1, TLR2, and TLR4 was markedly enhanced in human atherosclerotic plaques. A considerable proportion of TLR-expressing cells were also activated, as shown by the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-κB. Conclusion — Our findings illustrate a repertoire of TLRs associated with inflammatory activation in human atherosclerotic lesions, and they encourage further exploration of innate immunity in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.

Keywords

TLR2Innate immune systemPathogenesisReceptorTLR4Pattern recognition receptorMedicineToll-like receptorImmunologyPathogen-associated molecular patternImmune systemImmunohistochemistryPathologyInternal medicine

Affiliated Institutions

Related Publications

Publication Info

Year
2002
Type
article
Volume
105
Issue
10
Pages
1158-1161
Citations
693
Access
Closed

External Links

View on DOI.org

Social Impact

Altmetric
PlumX Metrics

Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions

Citation Metrics

693
OpenAlex

Cite This

Kristina Edfeldt, Jesper Swedenborg, Göran K. Hansson et al. (2002). Expression of Toll-Like Receptors in Human Atherosclerotic Lesions. Circulation , 105 (10) , 1158-1161. https://doi.org/10.1161/circ.105.10.1158

Identifiers

DOI
10.1161/circ.105.10.1158