Impact of TLR5 rs5744174 on stroke risk, gene expression and on inflammatory cytokines, and lipid levels in stroke patients

Many studies reported that toll-like receptors (TLRs) played an important role in the process of ischemic stroke (IS). However, the impact of TLR5 rs5744174 on stroke risk, gene expression and on inflammatory cytokines, and lipid levels in ischemic stroke patients has not yet been reported and was therefore the subject of this study. In this case–control study, a total of 816 ischemic stroke patients and 816 healthy controls were genotyped using Sequenom MassArray technology. The mRNA expression of TLR5 was detected through quantitative real-time PCR among 52 ischemic stroke patients. The levels of IL-1b, IL-6, IL-8, and TNFα were measured by ELISA among 62 IS patients. Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were determined among 816 IS patients using a Hitachi 7600 Automatic Biochemistry Analyzer. Our result showed TLR5 rs5744174 polymorphism was not associated with stroke risk, TLR5 mRNA expression and inflammatory cytokines of IS patients ( P > 0.050), but was significantly associated with HDL-C (recessive model: β = − 0.14, 95 % CI: −0.24 to −0.03, P = 0.009). TLR5 rs5744174 polymorphism may have no impact on the stroke risk, gene expression and inflammatory cytokines, but may influence the HDL-C serum level of IS patients in Chinese Han population.