Patients with Crohn's disease display decreased levels of TLR9 mRNA expression in intestinal mucosa

Aims: Several observations sustain a role for TLR9 in the maintenance of gut homeostasis and pathogenesis of gut inflammation. We analysed here the TLR9 mRNA expression in different intestinal segments in patients with Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), and healthy controls, and investigated the influence of active inflammation on TLR9 mRNA expression. Methods: Firsts, biopsies from the terminal ileum, colon proximal to the left colonic flexure and colon distal to the left colonic flexure from 28 controls, 19 patients with CD and 10 patients with UC, all lacking clinical, macroscopic or histological…