TLR-2 Arg753Gln, TLR-4 Asp299Gly, and TLR-4 Thr399Ile polymorphisms in Henoch Schonlein purpura with and without renal involvement

Infections may trigger or aggravate glomerulonephritidis and renal vasculitis like Henoch Schonlein purpura (HSP). HSP is seen more frequently in patients with familial Mediterranean fever in which TLR-2 Arg753Gln polymorphism frequency is increased. Although renal involvement is the most important factor affecting the prognosis in HSP, it is not known which patients will have renal disease or why some patients have severe renal involvement while some others have mild renal disease. We investigated the role of TLR-2 and TLR-4 polymorphisms on the incidence and severity of renal involvement in HSP patients. We studied HSP patients with and without nephritis (n = 15 for each group) and healthy controls (n = 100). TLR-2 Arg753Gln and TLR-4 Asp299Gly/Thr399Ile polymorphisms were analyzed with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. The frequency of TLR-2 Arg753Gln, TLR-4 Asp299Gly, and Thr399Ile polymorphisms in healthy controls were 1, 3, and 2%, respectively. The frequencies of these polymorphisms were not different in HSP patients with or without nephritis compared to healthy controls. TLR-3 Arg753Gln, TLR-4 Asp299Gly, and Thr399Ile polymorphisms are not increased in HSP or HSP nephritis patients.