Abstract: Objective To investigate the changes and significance of the expression level of toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related acute-on-chronic pre-liver failure (pre-ACLF).Methods The expression of TLR3 and TLR4 in PBMC from 30 patients with pre-ACLF, 30 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and 15 healthy controls was detected by flow cytometry. Meanwhile, the diagnostic value of TLR3 and TLR4 in pre-ACLF was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.Results The levels of TLR3 and TLR4 from PBMC in pre-ACLF group were significantly higher than those in CHB and control groups (P<0.05). The area under ROC curves of TLR3 and TRL4 were 0.830 (95% confidence interval: 0.728 ~ 0.932) and 0.977 (95% confidence interval: 0.948 ~ 1.000), respectively.Conclusion Detection the levels of TLR3 and TLR4 may contribute to the diagnosis of HBV-related pre-ACLF.

Key words: Toll-like receptor 3, Toll-like receptor 4, Liver failure, Hepatitis B virus, Prophase, Diagnosis