Finally, when the levels of serum ALT [207 (84.5, 427.5) vs 182 (76, 460)], IL-33 [22.13 (9.69, 51.57) vs 18.13 (8.76, 45.7)] and ST2 [41.78 (12.49, 147.20) vs 26.58 (11.32, 134.52)] were compared between the group with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B and the group with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B, no significant differences were found (P = 0.635 for ALT, P = 0.456 for IL-33, and P = 0.413 for ST2) (Fig. 4). Here, IL33 is linked to chronic hepatitis B virus infection.