Abstract:Objective To investigate the expression levels of Toll like receptor 4 (toll-like receptor 4, TLR-4) and transforming growth factor β1 (trans-forming growth factor β1, TGF-β1) and their roles in the occurrence and development of HBV related cirrhosis. Methods From January 2016 to December 2017, 25 HBV carriers (HBV carrier group), 50 CHB patients (CHB group) and 139 HBV related cirrhosis patients (HBV related cirrhosis group) were selected from the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, and 25 healthy people were selected as the control group (healthy control group). The circulating blood samples of the study objects were selected. The expression of TLR-4, TGF-β1 in the circulating blood of all the subjects were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa), the HBV DNA level of circulating blood was detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR method, and the liver function index was detected by ADVIA 2400 automatic biochemical analyzer. The expression level of TLR-4, TGF-β1 and their correlation with ALT, HBV load in the circulating blood were compared. Results There was no significant difference in circulating blood TLR-4, TGF-β1 levels between HBV carriers and healthy controls (P?>?0.05); the expression of TLR-4, TGF-β1 in circulating blood increased with the developed severity of HBV related liver disease; the highest expression levels of TLR-4, TGF-β1 were in patients with hepatitis B related cirrhosis, and those in patients with hepatitis B related cirrhosis were higher than in healthy controls, hepatitis B virus carriers and patients with CHB, and the difference was statistically significant (P?0.05); the expression of TLR-4, TGF-β1 in the hepatitis B related cirrhosis group was significantly higher than that in the CHB group, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P?0.05); the expression level of TLR-4, TGF-β1 in circulating blood increased with the aggravation of liver damage or liver fibrosis; the highest level of TLR-4, TGF-β1 was found in hepatitis B related cirrhosis patients with Child-Pugh C, and the difference was statistically significant among patients with Child-Pugh A, B and C (P?0.05); the levels of TLR-4 and TGF-β1 in the circulatory blood of patients with hepatitis B associated with cirrhosis were negatively correlated with the HBV DNA load (r?=?-0.497 and -0.581, all P?=?0.000); there was a positive correlation between them and ALT level (r?=?0.572 and 0.619, all P?= 0.000); there was a positive correlation between TGF-β1 level in circulating blood and TLR-4 level in patients with hepatitis B associated cirrhosis (r?=?0.736, P?=?0.000). Conclusions High levels of TLR-4 and TGF-β1 in circulating blood of HBV related liver cirrhosis patients may induce the occurrence of liver fibrosis, which is one of the important indicators to reflect the degree of HBV related liver cirrhosis and fibrosis.