Expression of Toll-like receptor 4 and Toll-like receptor 9 in non-small cell lung cancerand its clinical significance

Objective:To investigate the expression of Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4) and Toll-like receptor 9(TLR9) in human normal lung tissues and non-small lung cancer(NSCLC)tissues,and to explore their clinical significance.Methods:The immunohistochemical SP method was used to examine the expression of TLR4 and TLR9 in 51 cases of NSCLC and 20 cases of paracancerous normal lung tissues.Their correlations with pathological grade,clinical stage,and lymph node metastasis of NSCLC were statistically analyzed.Results:The positive rates of TLR4 and TLR9 protein in NSCLC tissues were significantly higher than normal control(56.9% vs 10% and 94.1% vs 15%, P0.05).TLR4 expression had a close relationship with pathological grades of NSCLC(P0.05).The expression of TLR4 was positively correlated with the expression of TLR9(P0.05).Conclusions:TLR4 and TLR9 has a higher expression in NSCLC tissues.TLR4 expression has a close relationship with pathological grades of NSCLC,suggesting that TLR4 and TLR9 play an important role in the development and progression of NSCLC.On the other hand,TLR4 and TLR9-related ligands such as OK-432 and CpG-ODN could be used as Freund's adjuvant for NSCLC therapy.