Decreased expressions of Toll-like receptor 9 and its signaling molecules in chronic hepatitis B virus-infected patients.

ABSTRACT

CONTEXT Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play crucial roles in immune responses, especially innate immunity, against viral infections. Toll-like receptor 9 recognizes intracellular viral double-strand DNA, which leads to the activation of nuclear factor B (NF-κB) through the myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MYD88) pathway. Defects in the expression of TLR9 and its signaling molecules may cause attenuated immune responses against hepatitis B virus. OBJECTIVE: To determine expression levels of TLR9 messenger RNA along with MYD88, interleukin 1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK1), tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6), and NF-κB in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB)-infected patients. DESIGN: In this study, 60 CHB patients and 60 healthy controls were recruited and the expression of TLR9 and its downstream signaling molecules was examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction techniques using ß-actin as a housekeeping gene. RESULTS: Our results showed that expression of TLR9, MYD88, IRAK1, TRAF6, and NF-κB in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of CHB patients was significantly decreased in comparison with healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: According to our results, it appears that CHB patients are unable to appropriately express genes in the TLR9 pathway, which may impede immune responses against hepatitis B virus infection. These results suggest a mechanism that may partially explain the fact that immune responses are disrupted in CHB patients.