J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2013 Jan-Mar;27(1):233-9.
The role of innate immune response mediated by Toll-like receptors in HCV infection, is not yet well understood and there is a lack of data regarding liver tissue expression of these molecules in chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Our study is aimed to investigate ex vivo, liver expression of TLR2, TLR3 and TLR7, which are more involved in the immune-pathogenesis of CHC, and to explore possible correlations with features of disease. We obtained liver biopsies and collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 23 consecutive patients with CHC and from 6 patients of control, without liver disease, undergoing surgery for cholecystectomy. The levels of TLRs mRNA in the samples were determined using a real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). We found a significant high expression of TLR3 in the liver of CHC patients respect to controls (also higher than expression in the PBMC). Conversely no differences emerged in the TLR2 and TLR7 levels between cases and controls. Also we found a correlation of TLR2 and TLR7 levels with the grade of necro-inflammation in the liver. Furthermore TLR7 hepatic levels resulted related to a more advanced stage of liver fibrosis. Ours is the first study to provide data on tissue expression of TLRs during chronic hepatitis C and we believe that it could lead to a better understanding of the role of these molecules in the HCV-mediated liver damage.
Toll 样受体介导的固有免疫反应在 HCV 感染中的作用尚不清楚，关于慢性丙型肝炎（CHC）中这些分子在肝组织中的表达也缺乏数据。我们的研究旨在调查 TLR2、TLR3 和 TLR7 的体外肝脏表达，这些分子在 CHC 的免疫发病机制中更为重要，并探讨与疾病特征的可能相关性。我们从 23 例连续的 CHC 患者和 6 例无肝脏疾病的胆囊切除术患者中获得肝活检和外周血单核细胞（PBMC）。使用实时逆转录定量 PCR（RT-qPCR）测定样本中 TLRs mRNA 的水平。我们发现 CHC 患者肝组织中 TLR3 的表达明显高于对照组（也高于 PBMC 中的表达）。相反，病例组和对照组之间 TLR2 和 TLR7 的水平没有差异。此外，我们还发现 TLR2 和 TLR7 水平与肝内坏死性炎症的程度相关。此外，TLR7 的肝内水平与更晚期的肝纤维化阶段相关。我们的研究首次提供了慢性丙型肝炎期间 TLRs 组织表达的数据，我们相信这将有助于更好地理解这些分子在 HCV 介导的肝损伤中的作用。
