ABSTRACT
Objective To study the expression levels of IL-37 in serum in chronic HBV(CHB)patients,and investigate their clinical significance in CHB patients.Methods The expression levels of IL-37 in serum from 35 CHB patients and 35 health-y controls were quantified by ELISA.This study also tested ALT,AST,HBsAg,HBeAg,HBV DNA,TNF-αand IL-10 in the serum of CHB patients,and also analyzed the relationship between the levels of IL-37 and ALT,AST,HBsAg,HBeAg, HBV DNA,TNF-α,IL-10 levels.Results The expression levels of IL-37 was increased in CHB patients 437.5±152.7 pg/ml compared to healthy donors(63.0±2.1 pg/ml).The difference between the two groups was statistically significant(t=2.45,P=0.017).The levels of IL-37 was found to correlate with ALT(r=0.406,P=0.019)and IL-10(r=0.433,P=0.035)but not AST,HBsAg,HBeAg,HBV DNA and TNF-α.Conclusion This study reveals the levels of IL-37 in CHB patients was higher than healthy controls,and IL-37 may play an important role in liver damage and HBV chronic infection.