BACKGROUND:Post-hepatitic cirrhosis is regarded as common and severe form of liver damage. Interferonγ-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), a member of the non-ELR (glutamic-leucine-arginine) motif CXC chemokine family, has recently been shown to recruit and activate speciifc subsets of leukocytes to sites of inlfammation or an immune response during the development of hepatic cirrhosis. However, the effects of IP-10 and IP-10 mRNA on inlfammatory inifltration at local sites and in the peripheral blood of patients with post-hepatitic cirrhosis as well as their relationship with viral load are still poorly deifned. This study aimed to detect the relationship between the expression of IP-10 in serum, IP-10 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and the levels of HBV DNA in the serum of patients, and to explore their role in the pathogenesis of cirrhosis. METHODS:Typical patients with cirrhosis after HBV infection were selected, and their serum IP-10 concentrations were evaluated with ELISA, the content of IP-10 mRNA in PBMCs was measured by real-time PCR, and the load of HBV DNA in serum and PBMCs was assessed by semi-quantitative analysis of gel imaging. RESULTS:The levels of IP-10 in serum and IP-10 mRNA in PBMCs of patients with cirrhosis were 299.9±77.2 pg/ml and 0.7500±0.1495, respectively. They were higher than those of controls (P