Toll-like receptor 10 in Helicobacter pylori infection

Helicobacter pylori is a highly successful and important human pathogen that causes chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer diseases and gastric cancer. Innate immunity plays an important role of the primary defense against pathogens and epidemiological studies have suggested a role of toll-like receptor 1 (TLR1) in the risk of H. pylori acquisition. We performed microarray analysis of gastric mucosal biopsy specimens from H. pylori-positive and uninfected subjects; infection was associated with an ~15-fold up-regulation of TLR10 (p <0.001). Quantitative RT-PCR confirmed TLR10 mRNA levels were increased 3-fold in H. pylori-infection (p <0.001) and immunohistochemistory using anti-TLR10 polyclonal antibodies showed increased TLR10 expression in gastric epithelial cells of infected individuals. In vitro experiments where H. pylori was co-cultured with NCI-N87 gastric cells showed significant H. pylori-specific up-regulation of TLR10 mRNA levels and a correlation with TLR2 mRNA levels (R = 0.87, P <0.001). We compared combinations of TLRs for their ability to mediate NF-_B activation. NF-_B activation was increased following exposure to heat killed H. pylori or H. pylori-LPS only with the TLR2/TLR10 heterodimer. These findings suggest TLR10 is a functional receptor involved in the innate immune response to H. pylori infection and that TLR2/TLR10 heterodimer possibly functions in the recognition of H. pylori-LPS. We have employed whole genome microarray expression profiling of gastric epithelium in H.pylori infection. We compare 1) Hp positive and negative group. 2) by gastritis grade 3) by countries.