Expression of TLR7, TLR9 and associated inducible genes was evaluated by quantitative PCR in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 10 healthy individuals and 19 AA patients, categorized according to disease duration, activity and hair loss extent.
TLR9 expression was positively correlated with fever (P = 0.017), alopecia (P = 0.046), safety of estrogens in lupus erythematosus national assessment SLE disease activity index (SELENA-SLEDAI) score (r(s) = 0.385, P = 0.003), and the level of IRF5 (r(s) = 0.35, P = 0.027) and IFN-a (r(s) = 0.627, P = 0.001) in SLE patients.