ABSTRACT:Objective To explore the changes of serum cytokine interleukin-17 (IL-17)in patients with chronic hepatitis B of different clinical types and its clinical significance.Methods We selected 30 cases of mild chronic hepatitis B,34 cases of moderate one,29 cases of severe one,38 cases of liver cirrhosis,and 21 cases of acute on chronic liver failure.Another 30 cases over the same period served as the healthy control group.Cytokine IL-1 7 level in peripheral blood was detected in each group,and all the groups except the control group were detected for liver function and HBV-DNA.These related serum markers were detected and the results were statistically analyzed.Results ① IL-17 in the peripheral blood was (8.103±2.061)ng/mL in healthy control group;(25.551 ±7.078)ng/mL,(45.442±18.358)ng/mL and (75.378±19.05)ng/mL in the groups with mild,moderate and severe chronic hepatitis B;and (97.16±17.066)ng/mL in acute on chronic liver failure group.Its levels gradually increased with the severity;and there were significantly different among the five groups and between every two groups (P<0.01).The peripheral blood level of IL-17 was (8.103±2.061)ng/mL in the healthy control group, (34.517±8.905)ng/mL in compensatory cirrhosis group,and (45.615±15.623)ng/mL in the decompensated cirrhosis group.These three groups had pairwise comparison,and the difference between every two groups was significant (P<0 .0 1 ).The peripheral blood level of IL-1 7 in the decompensated cirrhosis group increased compared with that in the compensatory group.③ In the 1 5 2 cases detected,serum IL-1 7 level and serum ALT,AST,TBIL,HBV-DNA levels were positively correlated,and serum PTA had negative correlation with the level of IL-1 7 .④ In the 2 1 cases of acute on chronic liver failure,the peripheral blood level of IL-1 7 did not significantly differ between antigen-e positive and negative groups (P=0.654).⑤ In 21 patients with chronic on acute liver failure,the level of IL-1 7 in peripheral serum and MELD scores showed a positive correlation by Pearson correlation analysis (r=0.533,P=0.013).Conclusion In patients with chronic hepatitis B,the level of IL-17 in peripheral serum increased with disease severity.Moreover,the level of IL-1 7 in peripheral blood may play a role in promoting the progression of cirrhosis and the development of acute on chronic liver failure.