Abstract:

Objective To investigate the roles of Toll-like receptor （TLR） 3 and 9 in herpes zoster （HZ）． Methods Venous blood samples were collected from 40 patients with HZ and 16 normal human controls． Flow cyometry was used to detect the expressions of TLR3 and TLR9 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells （PBMCs） from these subjects. Results The percentages of PBMCs expressing TLR3 and TLR9 were significantly higher in patients than in normal human controls （both P < 0.01）．The expression levels of TLR3 and TLR9 in PBMCs were negatively correlated with the age of onset （r = －6.23, －5.88 respectively, both P < 0. 01）, but uncorrelated with gender or age. There was a significant difference in the expression levels of TLR3 and TLR9 in PBMCs between different age groups （< 40 years, 40-50 years, > 50 years） of patients with HZ （F = 3.410, P < 0.01）, with the strongest expression observed in patients younger than 40 years. Conclusion TLR3 and TLR9 may participate in the pathogenesis of HZ.

Key words: Flow cytometry