Fig 1: HMGB1‐mediated TLR4/NF‐κB activation and inflammatory factor overexpression in OSA patients. (A) Quantitative PCR detection showing the relative mRNA expression of Tlr2, Tlr4 and Rage in the soft palate from control and OSA patients. (B) Western blot analysis showing the significantly increased TLR4 and p‐NF‐κB p65 levels in OSA patients. C1–3 and P1–4, respectively, present samples from different control subjects and OSA patients. (C) The bar graph indicates the relative expression of TLR4 and p‐NF‐κB p65. The fold change was calculated and compared with control subjects. (D, E) ELISA analysis showing IL‐6 (D) and TNF‐ɑ (E) levels in tissue homogenate of the soft palate from control (n = 8) and OSA (n = 11) patients. Data are expressed as the mean ± SD. **P < 0.01 versus control group. n.s., no significance. P values were analyzed by a two‐tailed Student's t test (A, C–E).