TLR4 and liver dysplastic nodule: Although recent studies have demonstrated that a deficiency of TLR2 or TLR4 attenuates the inflammatory response and the development of DN (Devaraj et al., 2011; Kuwabara et al., 2012; Lin et al., 2012), what is not clear is which stimuli, in addition to hyperglycemia, predominantly activate the TLR-related inflammatory response.