ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the role of sTRAIL in the pathogenesis of HBV infection in human being.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>sTRAIL in 153 patients' sera was examined with ELISA. Correlations between sTRAIL and liver functional parameters were analysed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The levels of sTRAIL in patients with various clinical types of hepatitis B as well as primary hepatocellular carcinoma were all higher than that in normal persons and became almost normal in recovering stage cases. In acute and chronic HBV infection, sTRAIL level was negatively correlated with ALT, AST and total bilirubin levels, and positively correlated with serum albumin.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results indicated that higher level of sTRAIL expression is correlated with liver damage, and apoptosis induced by sTRAIL is one of the mechanisms of liver damage in HBV infection.</p>