Up-regulation of TLR2 and TLR4 in high mobility group Box1-stimulated macrophages in pulpitis patients.

OBJECTIVES: High Mobility Group Box1 (HMGB1) is a nonhistone, DNA-binding protein that serves a crucial role in regulating gene transcription and is involved in a variety of proinflammatory, extracellular activities. The aim of this study was to explore whether HMGB1 stimulation can up-regulate the expression of Toll-like Receptor 2 (TLR2) and Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4) on macrophages from pulpitis and to clarify the subsequent events involving Th17 cells and Th17 cell-associated cytokine changes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Having prepared dental pulp tissues of pulpitis and healthy controls, macrophage were isolated and cultured. Macrophages were thereafter stimulated by HMGB1 time course. RT-QPCR, flowcytometer, immunofluorescence, Western blotting, and ELISA techniques were used in the present research.

RESULTS: Our results showed that the expression of TLR2 and TLR4 on macrophages stimulated with HMGB1 increased in pulpitis compared with controls (macrophages without HMGB1 stimulation) with a statistical significance (P<0.001). In addition, the levels of IL-17, IL-23, and IL-6 in supernatants from cultured macrophages stimulated with HMGB1 from pulpitis increased, and NF-kB, the downstream target of TLR2 and TLR4, also showed a marked elevation after macrophages' stimulation by HMGB1.

CONCLUSION: The evidence from the present study suggests that the enhanced TLR2 and TLR4 pathways and Th17 cell polarization may be due to HMGB1 stimulation in pulpitis.