Impaired Toll-like receptor 2-mediated Th1 and Th17/22 cytokines secretion in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with atopic dermatitis

Background Impaired Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) function has been associated with the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). However, there are only few studies reporting on the TLR2-induced immunological responses of circulating leucocytes of AD patients. We thus investigated the expression and secretion of Th1, Th2 and Th17/22 cytokines triggered by TLR2 ligands in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from AD patients. Expression of TLR2, 1, 6 and high-affinity receptor for IgE (FceRI) were further investigated to evaluate the outcome of immune response in AD.