Vertical Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus in Human Early Embryos

［Abstract］Objective　To detect the expression of HBV in human early embryos of infertility patients combined with hepatitis B virus（HBV）infection after undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer （IVF-ET） treatment，so as to provide reliable evidence for the vertical transmission of HBV through human germ cells. Methods We collected the abandoned early embryos of patients combined with HBV infection after undergoing IVF-ET treatment in the department of reproductive medicine of the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province，total genomic DNA was obtained by single cell PCR，and then polymerase chain reaction（PCR）was used to detect the expression of HBV-DNA and covalently closed circular DNA of hepatitis B virus （HBV-cccDNA）in early embryos. Results Both HBV-DNA and HBV-cccDNA were detected in the early embryo among the mother or father or parents HBV infected patients. The positive detection rate of HBV-DNA in mother， father and parents HBV infected patients was 78.9%，76.3% and 100%，and the positive rate of HBV-cccDNA was 63.2%，78.9% and 100%. The difference between the mother and the father was not significant（P＞0.05）. However，the positive rate in parents HBV infected patients group was significantly higher than the mother or father group，showing a significant difference（P＜0.05）. Conclusion　HBV can be transmitted from mother or father to early embryos via IVF-ET treament， and the risk of vertical transmission increases significantly when the couple are HBV infected.