The Role of Toll-Like Receptor-2 in Acne Vulgaris of Iraqi Patients

The study was set up to investigate the role of Toll-like receptors-2 (TLR-2) in acne vulgaris. TLR-2 is a member of the innate immune system; it s a group of transmembrane receptors that recognize special microbial structures like pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMP) lead to the production of cytokine and inflammation. Ninety persons from both genders are included in the study, forty-five of them were patients and the same number was as control. Blood samples were taken from both groups and by using an ELISA kit, TLR-2 was estimated. The findings of the study referred that the adolescent, young adult and female gender was more effective in acne, and the male to female ratio was 1:1.25. Also, people with positive family history were more susceptible to acne. On the other hand, the results indicated there was a significant increase in sera levels of TLR-2 in patients with acne vulgaris compared to the controls group. Also, TLR-2 had a significant positive correlation with the severity of acne (p˃0.05, r=0.5). We concluded that adolescent, young adult, female gender, and positive family history appeared to be the most possible factors associated with acne vulgaris. Also, It s illustrated that the high levels of TLR-2 in acne and the positive correlation of TLR-2 with acne severity, revealed that TLR-2 has a role in the bad prognosis of acne vulgaris.