TLR3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Further, TLR3 expression was stronger in well-differentiated HCC tissues compared with poorly differentiated HCC tissues, and there was a significant positive relationship between the cytoplasmic expression of TLR3 and HCC histological grade, which suggests that down-regulation of TLR3 may disrupt the regulation of cell proliferation and homeostasis to promote malignant transformation.