Department of Nervous System Diseases, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
Department of Gastrointestinal and General Surgery, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland.
Adv Clin Exp Med. 2019 Apr;28(4):515-522. doi: 10.17219/acem/87012.
Stimulation of toll-like receptors (TLRs) has been linked to the development of esophageal and gastric cancers.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical significance of tissue expression and serum concentration of TLR-2, TLR-4, TLR-7 and TLR-9 in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and gastro-esophageal junction adenocarcinoma.
The study group consisted of 97 individuals: 32 with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, 27 with gastro-esophageal junction cancer, and 38 ageand gender-matched controls. The mRNA expression and protein concentration of TLRs in tissues and sera were measured by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests.
In esophageal cancer patients, mRNA expressions of TLR-2, TLR-4 and TLR-7, and protein concentrations of all TLRs were significantly higher in tumor than in control tissue (p < 0.05). In esophageal cancer patients with lymph node metastasis, a tendency toward higher protein concentrations of tumor TLR-4 was observed. In gastro-esophageal junction adenocarcinoma subgroup, only the mRNA expression of TLR-7 and protein concentrations of TLR-4, TLR-7 and TLR-9 were significantly higher in tumors than in normal mucosa (p < 0.05). Protein concentration of TLR-9 was significantly higher in tumors of gastro-esophageal junction cancer with lymph node metastasis and depth of tumor invasion. Diagnostic potential of serum TLR-4 as a marker of gastro-esophageal junction cancer presence was reported.
We demonstrated differences in the expression patterns of TLRs between esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of gastro-esophageal junction, and showed circulating TLR-4 to be a potential marker of gastro-esophageal junction cancer.
Toll 样受体（TLR）的刺激与食管和胃癌的发展有关。
本研究旨在评估 TLR-2、TLR-4、TLR-7 和 TLR-9 在食管鳞状细胞癌和胃食管交界处腺癌患者组织表达和血清浓度的临床意义。
研究组包括 97 名个体：32 名食管鳞状细胞癌患者，27 名胃食管交界处癌患者，38 名年龄和性别匹配的对照组。通过逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）和酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测 TLRs 在组织和血清中的 mRNA 表达和蛋白浓度。
在食管癌患者中，TLR-2、TLR-4 和 TLR-7 的 mRNA 表达以及所有 TLR 的蛋白浓度在肿瘤组织中明显高于对照组织（p<0.05）。在有淋巴结转移的食管癌患者中，肿瘤 TLR-4 的蛋白浓度呈升高趋势。在胃食管交界处腺癌亚组中，仅 TLR-7 的 mRNA 表达和 TLR-4、TLR-7 和 TLR-9 的蛋白浓度在肿瘤组织中明显高于正常黏膜（p<0.05）。TLR-9 的蛋白浓度在有淋巴结转移和肿瘤浸润深度的胃食管交界处癌肿瘤中明显升高。报道了血清 TLR-4 作为胃食管交界处癌存在标志物的诊断潜力。
我们证明了食管鳞状细胞癌和胃食管交界处腺癌之间 TLR 表达模式的差异，并表明循环 TLR-4 可能是胃食管交界处癌的潜在标志物。
