Evaluation of Toll-Like Receptor 2 and 4 RNA Expression and the Cytokine Profile in Postmenopausal Women with Metabolic Syndrome

Objective: To evaluate the gene expression of Toll-Like (TLR-2 and TLR-4) receptors and cytokine profile in postmenopausal women with or without metabolic syndrome (MetS). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 311 Brazilian women (age$45 years and amenorrhea$12 months) were included. Women showing three or more of the following diagnostic criteria were diagnosed as positive for MetS: waist circumference.88 cm, triglycerides$150 mg/dL, HDL cholesterol,50 mg/dL, blood pressure$130/85 mmHg, and fasting glucose$100 mg/dL. The expression of TLR-2 and TLR-4 in peripheral blood was evaluated by RNA extraction and subsequent real time PCR analysis. The cytokine profile, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) and interleukins 1b, 6, and 10, were measured by ELISA