Gao Zhiwei, Rennie Donna C, Senthilselvan Ambikaipakan
Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Appl Clin Genet. 2010 Nov 16;3:109-20. doi: 10.2147/TACG.S8380. Print 2010.
Allergic rhinitis represents a global health issue affecting 10% to 25% of the population worldwide. Over the years, studies have found that allergic diseases, including allergic rhinitis, are associated with immunological responses to antigens driven by a Th2-mediated immune response. Because Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are involved in both innate and adaptive immune responses to a broad variety of antigens, the association between polymorphisms of TLRs and allergic diseases has been the focus in many animal and human studies. Although the etiology of allergic rhinitis is still unknown, extensive research over the years has confirmed that the underlying causes of allergic diseases are due to many genetic and environmental factors, along with the interactions among them, which include gene-environment, gene-gene, and environment-environment interactions. Currently, there is great inconsistency among studies mainly due to differences in genetic background and unique gene-environment interactions. This paper reviews studies focusing on the association between TLR polymorphisms and allergic diseases, including allergic rhinitis, which would help researchers better understand the role of TLR polymorphisms in the development of allergic rhinitis, and ultimately lead to more efficient therapeutic interventions being developed.
变应性鼻炎是一个全球性的健康问题，影响着全球10%至25%的人口。多年来，研究发现包括变应性鼻炎在内的变应性疾病与由Th2介导的免疫反应驱动的对抗原的免疫反应有关。由于Toll样受体（TLR）参与了对多种抗原的固有免疫和适应性免疫反应，因此TLR多态性与变应性疾病之间的关联一直是许多动物和人体研究的重点。尽管变应性鼻炎的病因仍不清楚，但多年来的广泛研究证实，变应性疾病的根本原因是许多遗传和环境因素以及它们之间的相互作用，其中包括基因-环境、基因-基因和环境-环境相互作用。目前，研究之间存在很大的不一致性，主要是由于遗传背景和独特的基因-环境相互作用的差异。本文综述了关于TLR多态性与变应性疾病（包括变应性鼻炎）之间关联的研究，这将有助于研究人员更好地理解TLR多态性在变应性鼻炎发病中的作用，并最终导致开发出更有效的治疗干预措施。
