<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript" src="/jquery/jquery.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
<ul class="level-1 yes">
<li class="item-i">I</li>
<li class="item-ii">II
<ul class="level-2 yes">
<li class="item-a">A</li>
<li class="item-b">B
<ul class="level-3">
<li class="item-1">1</li>
<li class="item-2">2</li>
<li class="item-3">3</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="item-c">C</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="item-iii">III</li>
</ul>
<script>
$("li.item-a").parentsUntil(".level-1")
.css("background-color", "red");
$("li.item-2").parentsUntil( $("ul.level-1"), ".yes" )
.css("border", "3px solid blue");
</script>
</body>
</html>