Abstract:  Objective To determine the association of polymorphisms in toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and TLR4 genes with diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetic Chinese patients. Design  Case control study. Participant 205 type 2 diabetic patients with defined duration of 5 years were enrolled(88 males and 117 females)，whose mean age was 59.39±9.17 years. Methods According to the examination of opththalmoscopy and fundus fluorescein angiography, patients were divided into DR group (with retinopathy) and DNR group (without retinopathy). DR group had 155 cases, and DNR group 50 cases. 15 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the TLR2 gene and TLR4 gene were examined using matrix－assisted laser desorption／Ionization time of flight mass spectrometry. Main Outcome Measures The frequency of the alleles and the genotypes, and odds ratio. Results Among the 15 candidate SNP, 5 polymorphisms of the TLR2 gene and 5 polymorphisms of the TLR4 gene were found, and the GG haplotype of TLR4 rs11536889 showed a significant difference (P＝0.036) between DR（60.64%） and DNR（52.00%） in their genotypes distribution with an odds ratio of 1.927 (95% confidence interval, 1.057~3.516). Conclusion In the Chinese population, the GG haplotype of TLR4 rs11536889 are closely related to diabetic retinopathy.  (Ophthaloml CHN, 2012, 21: 107-110)

Key words: diabetic retinopathy, toll-like receptor, single nucleotide polymorphisms