Study On The Roles Of Toll-like Receptor In LPS Induced Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition Of Bile Duct Epithelial Cells

Objective: To investigate the expression alterations of Toll-like receptor4(TLR4) andepithelial marker cytokeratin7(CK7) and mesenchymal marker Vimentin (VIM) in humanbile duct epithelial cell with stimulation with LPS, and to further explore the roles of TLR4in LPS-induced EMT of biliary epithelial cells.Methods: The in vitro cultured human bile duct epithelial cells were exposed to LPS (2μg/ml) for24h,48h and72h，respectively. With polymerase chain reaction (PCR), themRNA levels of CK7,Vimentin and TLR4were investigated. Statistical analysis wasperformed with SPSS17.0statistical software.Results: In bile duct epithelial cells with LPS stimulation, the mRNA expression levels ofTLR4were induced24h after administration, reached up a peak48h after administration,and started to decline after72h with a maintained high level，The mRNA expression levelsof Epithelial marker CK7gradually descended with the extension of incubation time(P<0.01)， and Vimentin mRNA expression significantly raised (P<0.01)with LPSstimulation.Conclusion: With exposure to LPS, the expression of TLR4was induced, and related tothe reduce of epithelial marker as well as the enhancement of mesenchymal marker, whichindicating the potential role of TLR4in LPS-induced EMT in bile duct epithelial cells.