Correlation of HPV infection with TLRs pathway activation and downstream gene expression in cervical precancerous lesions

Objective: To study the correlation of HPV infection with TLRs pathway activation and downstream gene expression in cervical precancerous lesions. Methods: Cervical precancerous lesion tissues from surgical resection or cone biopsy in Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University between June 2014 and May 2017 were collected and divided into HR-HPV positive group and HR-HPV negative group according to the condition of high-risk HPV infection;normal cervical tissues surgically removed due to fibroid in Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University during the same period were collected as the control group. The contents of TLRs pathway molecules as well as the expression of apoptosis-related genes and invasion-related genes in the cervical precancerous lesion tissues and normal cervical tissues were determined. Results:TLR2, TLR3, TLR4, TLR9 and NF-κB contents as well as CyclinD1, PCNA, iNOS, Gal-9, N-cadherin, HIF-1α and VEGF mRNA expression in HR-HPV positive group and HR-HPV negative group were significantly higher than those in control group whereas p53, Beclin1, LC3-II and SFRP2 mRNA expression were significantly lower than those in control group, and TLR2, TLR3, TLR4, TLR9 and NF-κB contents as well as CyclinD1, PCNA, iNOS, Gal-9, N-cadherin, HIF-1α and VEGF mRNA expression in HR-HPV positive group were significantly higher than those in HR-HPV negative group whereas p53, Beclin1, LC3-II and SFRP2 mRNA expression were significantly lower than those in HR-HPV negative group. Conclusion: HPV infection in cervical precancerous lesions can regulate downstream apoptosis and invasion gene expression by activating multiple TLRs pathways.