Inflammatory Characteristics of Monocytes from Pediatric Patients with Tuberous Sclerosis.

Objective  Therapeutic options for the tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) syndrome showed varying outcomes. Malfunctional tsc1 / tsc2 genes leave mTOR uninhibited, a positive downstream modulator of the innate proinflammatory immune system, which has not yet been described in pediatric patients with TSC. Methods  Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) gene expression levels of monocytes after cultivation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or with LPS + mTOR inhibitor rapamycin, patients with TSC ( n  = 16) were compared with healthy subjects ( n  = 20). Results  Compared with monocytes from healthy controls, LPS showed a more prominent gene expression pattern in patients with TSC (CCL24, CXCL10, IL…