Activation by Pathogen- and Damage-Associated Molecular Patterns Regulates the Expression of RANTES in Primary Hepatic Stellate Cells

While the chemokine RANTES is known to play an important role in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis, little is known about its regulation by the innate immune system. Therefore, we studied the role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and Retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) like receptors (RLRs) in the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC). Primary isolated murine and human HSCs were stimulated with TLR1–9, RIG-I ligands or co-incubated with primary isolated hepatocytes. Gene expression was assessed by quantitative RT-PCR, while RANTES production was additionally assessed by ELISA. Functional assays included in…