The advantages of laparoscopic (LC versus, open cholecystectomy (OC) seems to be related to minimal invasive procedure and to the moderate infiammatory response. The aim of this study is to define the involvement of Th1 (IFN-g) and Th2 (IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-13) cytokines production in vivo and in vítro in patients undergoing OC or LC. In 42 patients undergoing LC (n=22) and OC (n=20) Th1-like and Th2-like was evaluated before operation and at 6, 24 and 48 hours after operation for white blood cell counting and cytokines (IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL13, IFN-g, TNF-a) in the sera and in the supernatants from circulating mononuclear cells stimulated with phytohemagglutinin or lipopolysaccharide. The acute phase response cytokine, IL-6, appeared significantly increased following OC than after LC. All other cytokines did not very significantly. In vitro data shows a reduction of IFN-g and increase in Th2-like cytokines in OC patients compared with the basal value. In LC subjects we observed an high production of IFN-g associated to an increase of Th2-like cytokines, like IL-10 and IL-13, even though IL-4 and IL-6 were unmodified. In contrast to OC, LC did not significantly affect immucompetence, maintaining a moderate infiammatory response and an adequate balance between Th1 and Th2 cytokine. Furthermore, the strong activation of cells producing Th1-like cytokines in LC patients following mitogen activation indicated a consistent anti-microbial activity, that was not detectable in OC patients, that showed after activation only aTh2 response.