| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMP) receptors play a key role in the early host response to viruses. In this work, we determined mRNA levels of two members of the Toll-like Receptors family, (TLR3 and TLR7) and the helicase RIG-I, all of three recognizing viral RNA products, in peripheral blood of healthy donors and hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients, to observe if their transcripts are altered in this disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>IFN-α, TLR3, TLR7 and RIG-I levels in peripheral blood from healthy controls (n = 18) and chronic HCV patients (n = 18) were quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results show that IFN-α, TLR3, TLR7 and RIG-I mRNA levels are significantly down-regulated in patients with chronic HCV infection when compared with healthy controls. We also found that the measured levels of TLR3 and TLR7, but not RIG-I, correlated significantly with those of IFN-α</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Monitoring the expression of RNA-sensing receptors like TLR3, TLR7 and RIG-I during the different clinical stages of infection could bring a new source of data about the prognosis of disease.</p>
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