HBV and HCV infections are associated with the increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within the liver that are responsible for the oxidation of intracellular molecules and activation transcription factors. The aim of the present study was to establish whether the presence of hepatitis could be implicated in the elevation of oxidative stress (SOX) and plasma proinflammatory and chemoattractant cytokine levels in uraemic patients. The markers of SOX-autoantibodies to oxidized LDL (OxLDL-Ab); total peroxides; and the major antioxidant enzyme Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD); as well as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha); regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES); and macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha) and beta (MIP-1beta) levels were measured in the plasma of uraemic patients with hepatitis in comparison to subjects without hepatitis and to healthy volunteers. The values of total peroxide, Cu/Zn SOD, TNF-alpha, and MIP-1beta, were significantly elevated in uraemic patients when compared to the controls, whereas RANTES were decreased. MIP-1alpha and OxLDL-Ab were similar in the two groups. Cu/Zn SOD, MIP-1beta and RANTES concentrations were significantly higher in the hepatitis-positive relative to the hepatitis-negative group. Both MIP-1beta and RANTES were directly associated with Cu/Zn SOD levels and the presence of hepatitis. Multiple stepwise regression analysis has shown that the duration of dialysis, followed by the presence of hepatitis, independently and significantly predicted increased Cu/Zn SOD levels, whereas elevated Cu/Zn SOD as an independent variable was significantly associated with both increased both MIP-1beta and RANTES in uraemic patients. These results suggest that the presence of viral hepatitis status and liver injury are novel determinants of increased oxidative stress, as well as of increased MIP-1beta and RANTES levels in uraemic patients.