Immunohistochemical Expression of Toll-Like Receptor 3 in Verruca Vulgaris

Background: Toll-like receptors are expressed on both immune and nonimmune cells and respond to specific components of microbial pathogens, their signaling results in the activation of nuclear factor B (NF-B), which triggers the production of a variety of antimicrobial and proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of Toll-like receptors 3 (TLR 3) in the pathogenesis of verruca vulgaris (VV) by its immnohistochemical expression in the skin lesions of VV patients. Patients and Methods: This study was carried out on 20 patients with verruca vulgaris and 20 apparently healthy volunteers served as controls. All patients and controls were presenting at Benha Dermatology Department s Outpatients Clinic. A written consent was taken from each patient and control before participation in the study. This study was carried out during the period between March 2012 to February 2013. A 4mm punch skin biopsies were taken from wart in patient group and from normal skin in control group for histopathological staining and immnohistochemical staining of TLR 3. Results: There was a highly significant increase (p 0.001) in the TLR3 expression, density and staining intensity in all cases as compared with the normal controls. Conclusion: Epidermal TLR3 may have an important role in cutaneous innate immune responses to cutaneous human papillomavirus infections. So, Toll-like receptor agonists represent a promising approach for the treatment of verruca vulgaris.