Background: The gastrointestinal system constitutes an important part of immune system in newborns. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are pattern recognition molecules that initiate innate immune responses in newborn gut. The aim of the study was to investigate the responsiveness of intestinal Toll-like receptors 2 (TLR-2), TLR-4 and TLR-9 levels to postnatal steroid therapy.
Material and methods: Rats were randomly assigned to three experimental groups. Group I (control at day 0) (n = 9), group II (control at day 10) (n = 9): oral distilled water, group III (study group) (n = 9): oral dexamethasone (0.5 mg/kg/day). After 10 days, the ileojejunal segment was removed for biochemical analyses of TLR-2, TLR-4 and TLR-9.
Results: There was no statistically significant difference between groups for TLR-2 and TLR-4 levels. There was a significant difference between groups for TLR-9 levels. There were no significant difference between group I and III and both groups were significantly higher than group II for TLR-9 levels.
Conclusions: Postnatal steroid treatment may reduce TLR-4 level via increasing the level of TLR-9. Thus, it may lead to limited beneficial and protective effect against necrotizing enterocolitis which is a deleterious disease of the newborn gastrointestinal tract.