Association of TLR8 gene rs3764880 polymorphisms with susceptibility and lipid metabolism- and inflammation response-related quantitative traits of ischemic stroke in southern Chinese Han male population

Toll-Like Receptors Represent an Important Link for Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Aging and Diseases

Human life span expectancy has increased, and aging affects the organism in several ways, leading, for example, to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Age-adjusted prevalence of the cardiovascular diseases is higher in males than females. Aging also affects the gonadal sex hormones and the sex differences observed in cardiovascular diseases may be therefore impacted. Hormonal changes associated with aging may also affect the immune system and the immune response is sexually different. The immune system plays a role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. In this context, toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of pattern recognition receptors of the immune system whose activation induces the synthesis of pro-inflammatory molecules. They are expressed throughout the cardiovascular system and their activation has been widely described in cardiovascular diseases. Some recent evidence demonstrates that there are sex differences associated with TLR responses and that these receptors may be affected by sex hormones and their receptors, suggesting that TLRs may contribute to the sex differences observed in cardiovascular diseases. Recent evidence also shows that sex differences of TLRs in cardiovascular system persists with aging, which may represent a new paradigm about the mechanisms that contribute to the sex differences in cardiovascular aging. Therefore, in this mini review we describe the latest findings regarding the sex differences of TLRs and associated signaling in cardiovascular diseases during aging.

Identifying the pattern of immune related cells and genes in the peripheral blood of ischemic stroke

Background

Ischemic stroke (IS) is the second leading cause of death worldwide which is a serious hazard to human health. Evidence suggests that the immune system plays a key role in the pathophysiology of IS. However, the precisely immune related mechanisms were still not been systematically understood.

Methods

In this study, we aim to identify the immune related modules and genes that might play vital role in the occurrence and development of IS by using the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Meanwhile, we applied a kind of deconvolution algorithm to reveal the proportions of 22 subsets of immune cells in the blood samples.

Results

There were total 128 IS patients and 67 healthy control samples in the three Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. Under the screening criteria, 1082 DEGs (894 up-regulated and 188 down-regulated) were chosen for further analysis. A total of 11 clinically significant modules were identified, from which immune-related hub modules and hub genes were further explored. Finally, 16 genes were selected as real hub genes for further validation analysis. Furthermore, these CIBERSORT results suggest that detailed analysis of the immune subtype distribution pattern has the potential to enhance clinical prediction and to identify candidates for immunotherapy. More specifically, we identified that neutrophil emerge as a promising target for IS therapies.

Conclusions

In the present study, we investigated the immune related gene expression modules, in which the SLAMF1, IL7R and NCF4 may be novel therapeutic targets to promote functional and histological recovery after ischemic stroke. Furthermore, these hub genes and neutrophils may become important biological targets in the drug screening and drug designing.

Toll-like receptors as a therapeutic target in cancer, infections and inflammatory diseases

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are widely expressed pattern recognition receptors that bind to conserved molecular patterns expressed by pathogens and damaged cells. After recognition, activated TLRs induce the expression of various proinflammatory and antiviral molecules. Thus, TLRs are potential targets for treatment strategies aimed at boosting the adaptive immune response to vaccines, controlling infections, enhancing immune responses during tumor treatment and attenuating immune responses in inflammatory disorders. This Special Report examines the potential of TLRs as targets for the treatment of cancer, infections and inflammatory diseases. Here, we make a particular emphasis on molecules capable of modulating TLRs and their therapeutic applications.