Abstract: Objective To determine the changes in peripheral plasma concentrations of macrophage migration inhibitory factor(MIF),interleukin-17(IL-17),and interleukin-10(IL-10) in HBV carriers and their correlations with liver function or HBV DNA load of HBV carriers.Methods Fasting plasma samples were collected from 60 HBV carriers who were treated at the Second People's Hospital of Lanzhou from February 2012 to December 2013,including 39 chronic HBV carriers and 21 inactive HBs Ag carriers.The plasma concentrations of MIF,IL-17,and IL-10 were determined using ELISA.HBV DNA load was measured by quantitative real-time PCR.Liver function was tested using an automatic biochemical analyzer.Fifty healthy subjects served as controls.Continuous data were compared using the paired t test.Correlation analysis was performed using the Pearson correlation test.Results Compared with those in healthy controls,plasma MIF,IL-17,and IL-10 levels in chronic HBV carriers and inactive HBs Ag carriers increased significantly(t = 4.50,3.11,and9.99; 6.28,4.11,and 14.96; all P < 0.01).Plasma MIF,IL-17,and IL-10 levels in chronic HBV carriers were lower than those in inactive HBs Ag carriers,though not reaching statistical significance(P > 0.05).In chronic HBV carriers with different HBV DNA levels,we found that carriers with medium HBV DNA levels had lower MIF and IL-17 levels,but higher IL-10 levels,though the differences were not statistically significant(P > 0.05).There were no correlations between peripheral plasma levels of cytokines(MIF,IL-17,and IL-10) and liver function(ALT,AST,TBil,and Alb) or HBV DNA load(all P > 0.05).Conclusion MIF,IL-17,and IL-10 may play an important role in chronic HBV infection,and plasma levels of MIF,IL-17,and IL-10 can be used as important indicators to assess the severity of chronic hepatitis B in HBV carriers.