Toll-like receptor 7 a novel non-invasive inflammatory genetic sensor for ulcerative colitis remission monitoring

Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) are two major types of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). Toll‑like receptors (TLRs) are expressed in the innate immune system compartments, in charge of identifying a wide range of microorganisms. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression of TLR‑2, ‑7, and ‑8 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of UC patients as a novel non‑invasive primary inflammation sensor for monitoring the clinical course of UC candidates.

In this cross‑sectional study, total RNA was extracted from the PBMC of 42 UC patients along with 20 healthy donors. The mRNA levels of TLR‑2, ‑7, and ‑8 were assessed using the quantitative real‑time polymerase chain (qRT‑PCR) reaction.

The present research study demonstrated no significant changes in TLR‑2 mRNA expression in UC patients in comparison with the control group (P = 0.1264), whereas significant elevation (P = 0.0008) was distinguished in the TLR‑7 expression of UC participants specifically during the remission course compared with healthy donors and flareup patients (P = 0.0004 and P = 0.0063, respectively). The last selected TLR, TLR‑8 was not shown remarkable changes either between UC patients and the control group or between clinical courses of the disease.

Here, among three nominated TLRs for predicting UC patients, TLR‑7 was potentially selected according to the significant difference in mRNA expression in flareup UC patients and control donors. TLR‑7 could be used as a novel non‑invasive biomarker for monitoring UC patients in the active course of the disease.