Toll-like receptors in esopnageal cancer

作者：Kauppila Joonas H^*; Selander Katri S

来源：Frontiers in Immunology, 2014, 5: 1-4.

DOI：10.3389/fimmu.2014.00200

• Toll-like receptors
• microbiome
• esophageal cancer
• esophageal adenocarcinoma
• esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and esophageal adenocarcinoma are cancers of high mortality. EAC develops through Barrett%26apos;s esophagus (BE) and columnar dysplasia, preceded by gastro-esophageal reflux disease. The risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is increased by smoking and alcohol consumption. New treatment options for esophageal cancer are desperately needed. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a central role in mammalian immunity and cancer. TLRs are activated by microbial components, such as lipopolysaccharide, flagellin, DNA, and RNA, as well as endogenous ligands, including heat-shock proteins and endogenous DNA. This review summarizes the studies on TLRs in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and EAC. It has been shown that TLRs 1-10 are expressed in the normal esophagus. In esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, TLRs3, 4, 7, and 9 have been studied, showing associations to aggressive disease properties. In BE and EAC, only TLRs4, 5, and 9 have been studied. In the review, we discuss the implications of TLRs in esophageal cancer.

• 出版日期2014-5-7