Our results uncovered an additional pathogenic role of TLR7 and TLR9 in murine lupus nephritis by promoting the expression of nephritogenic gp70 autoantigen.
We undertook this study to determine whether the expression of TLR-9 in resident renal cells in lupus nephritis is related to the development of tubulointerstitial injury.
TLR-9 was analyzed in selectively retrieved renal tissue from (NZB x NZW)F1 mice at different stages of disease by laser capture microdissection combined with real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and in renal biopsy specimens from lupus nephritis patients by immunohistochemistry.
These results indicate that there is no evidence that common (frequency higher than 5%) alleles of the TLR-9 gene contribute significantly to the genetic risk involved in susceptibility to SLE or lupus nephritis.