SMAD2 and Hepatic fibrosis: To investigate the role of TLR3 in C. sinensis-induced liver fibrosis, we established a mouse model of C. sinensis-induced liver fibrosis using wildtype (WT) and TLR3-/- mice and examined various parameters associated with clonorchiosis, including weight, mortality, parasite burden, liver inflammation and biliary injury, cytokine expression, myofibroblast activation, TGF-β1 expression, phosphorylation level of Smad2/3, and intrahepatic collagen deposition.