Declining of Soluble Toll-like Receptor-2 in Asthma

Toll-like receptor (TLR) stimulation can lead to the activation of both innate and adaptive immune responses. Recently, some reports have pointed out to the role of membranous form of TLR2 in asthma pathogenesis. In this respect, this study aimed to examine serum and sputum levels of soluble form of TLR2 (sTLR2) in both patients with asthma and healthy individuals. Serum and sputum samples were obtained from asthmatic patients (n=33) and normal subjects (n=19). All the subjects were otherwise healthy. The asthmatic patients were classified into four groups according to Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). Eosinophile count and total serum IgE were determined in peripheral blood and sputum. Also, we established a sandwich ELISA to measure the serum and sputum levels of sTLR. The means of sTLR2 optical density levels in serum and sputum samples of the asthmatics were significantly lower than those obtained from the healthy controls)0.44±0.12 VS 0.72±0.15 IU/ml, P=0.003). sTLR2 optical density decreased concomitantly with the increase in the levels of asthma severity, but the differences observed were not statistically significant. The levels of sTLR2 decreased in serum and sputum samples obtained from asthmatic patients, as compared to the healthy individuals.