Objective: To investigate the relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) in the ovary and HBV intrauterine infection.
Methods: HBV DNA and HBV cccDNA were assayed in the ovaries of 33 pregnant women who were positive for HBV DNA, tested by Fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR). The level of HBV mark (HBVM) and the content of HBV DNA in peripheral blood of infants were measured by chemoluminescence and FQ-PCR methods respectively.
Results: The overall positive rate for both HBV DNA and HBV cccDNA in ovarian samples was 51.52% (17/33). The rate on intrauterine infection among infants was 12.12% (4/33) and all the 4 infected infants were delivered from mothers with normal hepatic function. When HBV DNA and HBV cccDNA were both positive, the rate of intrauterine infection in infants was significantly higher than those who were with both negative results (P < 0.05). Levels of HBV cccDNA and the rate of positive samples were significantly higher in mothers with infants who appeared to have had intrauterine infection than those did not (P < 0.01 and < 0.05, respectively).
Conclusion: HBV infection could be discovered in the human ovary and might be transmitted to the filial generation via ovum.