Background:
Previous studies have shown that cytomegalovirus (CMV) induced innate
immune response via activation of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). The association between CMV among
specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the TLR2 gene was also investigated.
Objective:
This study investigated the relationship between specific SNPs in the TLR2 gene (G>A),
TLR2-Arg753Gln (rs5743708), and CMV replication after bone marrow transplantation.
Methods:
The TLR2-Arg753Gln SNP was genotyped in 181 patients after bone marrow transplantation:
83 and 98 patients with and without CMV infection, respectively. CMV load was determined in
serially collected blood samples using real-time PCR. Genotyping was performed using specific sequence
primer PCR (SSP-PCR), and the results were confirmed by restriction fragment length polymorphism
(RFLP) analysis of the PCR-amplified fragments for GG (wild type), GA and AA identification.
Results:
Roughly, 85% of the patients screened for the presence of the TLR2-Arg753Gln were GG
homozygous, and 15% were GA heterozygous; no patients were homozygous for the mutant allele (A).
The GA heterozygous allele was more frequent in the CMV-infected group after bone marrow transplantation.
Conclusion:
To our knowledge, this is a novel observation that supports the notion that the functional
missense mutation (TLR2-Arg753Gln polymorphism) is possibly associated with CMV replication
after bone marrow transplantation. This suggests a role for TLR2 in the innate immune response of
human CMV infection in Egyptian bone marrow recipients..