RESUMEN
Objective To study the expression and clinical significance of toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and TLR7 in primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS) of different pathological types in children. Methods Renal expressions of TLR4 and TLR7 were amined and analyzed retrospectively in renal biopsy specimens from 110 PNS patients and 21 healthy controls by immunohisto-chemical method. According to the renal pathologic classification of PNS, the TLR4 and TLR7 expression levels in PNS of dif-ferent types were compared. Results Compared with the renal tissue of healthy controls, the expression level of TLR4 on renal tissue of PNS patients was significantly increased (P<0.01). Among MN, MsPGN and FSGS, the highest expression of TLR4 was observed in MCD (P<0.01). Compared with the renal tissue of healthy controls, the expression level of TLR7 in re-nal tissue of PNS patients was also significantly increased (P<0.01). Among MCD, MN and FSGS, the highest expression of TLR7 was observed in MsPGN (P<0.01). Conclusions TLR4 and TLR7 expression levels are increased in renal tissue of PNS patients and the expression levels may be correlated with renal pathological types.