Analysis of the association between TLR2 rs111200466 variants and cervical Cancer susceptibility in Sudanese women

Worldwide there are more than 273,000 deaths from cervical cancer each year and it accounts for 9% of female cancer deaths. The high-risk variants of human papillomavirus such as HPV 16 and 18 are major etiological agents of cervical cancer. The persistency of infection with HPV may due to inappropriate immune response due to SNPs interfering with the function of particular part of the immune system. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play an important role in the signaling of many pathogen-related molecules and endogenous proteins associated with immune activation. The -196 to -174del polymorphism affects the TLR2 gene and alters its promoter activity. AimIn this study we investigated the presence and the influence of TLR2 -196 to - 174del polymorphism on the risk of cervical cancer development in Sudanese. The study was performed on 42 patients with cervical cancer and 27 healthy controls. Genotyping of -196 to -174del polymorphism of TLR2 was investigated using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction method in all subjects. We documented the presence of-196 to -174del polymorphism of TLR2 in Sudanese women with allele frequency 37% of control and 34% of patient sample although there was no observed association between this SNP and the risk of cervical cancer (p value. 394).Further studies are needed in a large and ethnically diverse population to determine the impact of the TLR2 polymorphism in the susceptibility of cervical cancer.