Abstract: Objective To investigate TANK binding kinase-1s in PBMC of patients with chronic hepatitis C. Methods The Tbk1s，Tbk1 and IFN-β genes in PBMCs from 21 patients with chronic hepatitis C were examined by using real-time PCR. Results The results showed that significant elevation of TBK 1s levels in hepatitis C patients as compared to that in normal control，while the treatment of hepatitis C patients with IFN-α/ribavirin resulted in the downregulation of TBK1s as compared to that in normal persons. Conclusions The study strongly supports the idea that TBK1s is correlated with HCV infection，and TBK1s may play an important role in the regulation of HCV infection.

Key words: Hepatitis C, Real-time PCR, PBMCs, IFN signal pathway