Abstract: Objective To study the changes in serum inflammatory cytokines in patients with acute liver failure （ALF）. Methods Fifteen patients with ALF in our hospital from June 2011 to June 2013 were included in this study,and 15 healthy subjects were served as normal controls. Serum levels of interleukin（IL）-2,IL-4, IL-5,IL-6,IL-10,IL-17,IL12p70,tumor necrosis factor（TNF）-α and TNF-β were measured by cytometric bead array. Results No statistical differences were observed between ALF patients and healthy controls in serum IL-2,IL-4,IL-5,IL-12p70 and TNF-βlevels;The serum level of TNF-α,IL-6,IL-10 and IL-17 in patients with ALF were 13.49 pg/mL,480.96 pg/mL,330.28 pg/mL and 6.36 pg/mL,respectively,significantly higher than those in healthy controls（7.32pg/mL for TNF-α,P=0.03;4.64 pg/mL for IL-6,P<0.01;5.47 pg/mL for IL-10,P<0.01;and 2.03 pg/mL for IL-17,P=0.04）. Conclusion Inflammatory cytokines play a significant role in the pathophysiology of ALF.

Key words: Acute liver failure, Inflammatory cytokine, Pathogenesis