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 specific subsets of leukocytes to sites of inflammation or an immune response during the development of hepatic cirrhosis.However,the effects of IP-10 and IP-10 mRNA on inflammatory infiltration 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 defined.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<0.05)and also increased in the HBV DNA(+) groups(P<0.05,P<0.01)to 343.0±80.3 pg/ml and 0.8465±0.1528 respectively.The levels of IP-10 in serum and IP-10 mRNA in PBMCs were clearly correlated with the load of HBV DNA(P<0.01).CONCLUSIONS:The levels of IP-10 and IP-10 mRNA in the peripheral blood of patients with cirrhosis increase are closely correlated with the load of HBV DNA in serum,and play a key role in the progression of post-hepatitic cirrhosis. BACKGROUND: Post-hepatitic cirrhosis is considered as common and severe form of liver damage. Interferon gamma-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 specific subsets of leukocytes to sites of inflammation or an immune response during the development of hepatic cirrhosis. Despite that the effects of IP-10 and IP-10 mRNA on inflammatory infiltration 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 defined. This study aims 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 c ontent 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 with patients with cirrhosis were 299.9 ± 77.2 pg / ml and 0.7500 ± 0.1495, respectively. They were higher than those of controls (P <0.05) and also increased in the HBV DNA (+) groups (P <0.05, P <0.01) to 343.0 ± 80.3 pg / ml and 0.8465 ± 0.1528 respectively. These levels of IP-10 mRNA in PBMCs were clearly correlated with the load of HBV DNA (P <0.01) .CONCLUSIONS: The levels of IP-10 and IP-10 mRNA in the peripheral blood of patients with cirrhosis increase are currently correlated with the load of HBV DNA in serum, and play a key role in the progression of post-hepatitic cirrhosis.