Association of Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4) Gene Polymorphism with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in Iranian Patients

Abstract

Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic debilitating disease with unknown pathogenesis. Recent studies indicated that pathogen recognition receptors such as toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) may have a role in the pathogenesis of MS. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association of rs1927911 polymorphism in the TLR4 gene with MS. Methods: Four hundred subjects, including 200 MS patients and 200 healthy individuals, were recruited for the study. Patients were included secondary-progressive, primary-progressive, and relapsing-remitting subtypes. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism was performed to identify rs1927911 genotypes in the TLR4 gene. Results: The mean age of the healthy and MS groups was 34.22 ± 1.3 and 33.2 ± 0.98, respectively. The frequency of TT, TC, and CC was 29/52, 132/128, and 39/20, respectively, in MS compared to healthy controls. Genotype and allele distributions were significantly different between both the groups (P < 0.05). In addition, TC (odds ratio [OR] = 1.849, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.105–3.095, P = 0.019) and CC (OR = 3.497, 95% CI = 1.728–7.076, P = 0.001) genotypes had increased the risk of MS. Conclusion: Our findings showed a significant relationship between rs1927911 polymorphism in the TLR4 gene and MS. We concluded that rs1927911 genotype variations may increase the risk of MS. Further studies in other populations are recommended to support our findings.