Toll-like receptors 3, 7, and 9 in Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma

: Renkonen S, Cardell LO, Mattila P, Lundberg M, Haglund C, Hagström J, Mäkitie AA

: 2015

: APMIS

: APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica

: APMIS

: 123

: 5

: 439

: 44

: 6

: 0903-4641

: 1600-0463

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/apm.12366

Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) is a rare, benign tumor affecting adolescent males. The etiology of JNA as well as the causes determining the variable growth patterns of individual tumors remains unknown. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are part of the innate immune response to microbes; by recognition of distinct features, they link to induction of pro-inflammatory signaling pathways. We immunostained TLR 3, 7, and 9 in 27 JNA specimens of patients treated at the Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland, during the years 1970-2009.\nTLR 3, 7, and 9 expressions were found in stromal and endothelial cells of JNA, and their expression levels varied from negative to very strong positive. TLR 3 expression was found to have a significant correlation with the clinical stage of JNA.\nThe present results propose a putative role of TLRs in the growth process of JNA.\nUNLABELLED\nRESULTS\nCONCLUSIONS