High Serum Levels of TGF-β in Iranians With Chronic HBV Infection

Background: the transforming growth factor-β (tgf-β) is an important cytokine with anti-inflammatory properties. objectives: the main purpose of this study was to compare the serum levels of tgf-β in a group of chronic hbv infected (chb) patients as well as healthy individuals from south-east of iran. patients and methods: sixty patients with chb as well as sixty healthy individuals were enrolled in the study. elisa technique was applied to measure the serum levels of tgf-β in both groups. results: our results revealed that the serum levels of tgf-β were significantly increased in chb patients in compare to healthy controls. conclusions: according to this result, it may be concluded that high serum levels of tgf-β may be a mechanism by which immune response against hbv is suppressed.