Eczema and food allergy in an Italian pediatric cohort: no association with TLR-2 and TLR-4 polymorphisms

Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2010 Apr-Jun;23(2):671-5. doi: 10.1177/039463201002300233.

Abstract

Recent studies have indicated that Toll-like receptor polymorphisms or their impaired signalling, specifically TLR-2 and TLR-4, were correlated with a higher risk for allergy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the associations of TRL-2 and TRL-4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and atopic traits in a cohort of 159 Italian allergic children (102 affected by eczema and 57 by IgE-mediated food allergy) and 147 healthy controls recruited in Rome, Italy. DNA was isolated from the peripheral blood and TLR-2 R753Q/TLR-4 D299G polymorphisms were determined by TaqMan MGB probes using Real-Time PCR technique. In the control group, the TLR-2 polymorphism R753Q had a prevalence of 2.5% while the frequency of the TLR-4 D299G was 12%. None of the 159 allergic patients showed the R753Q SNP. By contrast, 7/57 patients with food allergy (12%) and 6/102 subjects with eczema (6%) carried the TLR-4 mutation. In our cohort, no evidence of correlation between TLR-2 or TLR-4 polymorphism and eczema and food allergy incidence and/or severity was found. Further studies are needed to clarify the possible role of TLR-2 and TLR-4 polymorphism in allergic disease, in Italian children.

Publication types

  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cohort Studies
  • Eczema / genetics*
  • Female
  • Food Hypersensitivity / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide*
  • Toll-Like Receptor 2 / genetics*
  • Toll-Like Receptor 4 / genetics*

Substances

  • TLR2 protein, human
  • TLR4 protein, human
  • Toll-Like Receptor 2
  • Toll-Like Receptor 4