OBJECTIVETo study the relationship between fetomaternal cellular traffic and hepatitis B virus (HBV) intrauterine infection.

METHODSMaternal DNA and fetal DNA were amplified by short tandem repeat (STR)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR), allele-specific PCR (As-PCR) and heminested PCR (hemi-nPCR). Cell transfer from mother-to-fetus or fetus-to-mother was determined by detecting the existence of TH01, GSTM1 and ACE. The relationship between cell transfer from mother-to-fetus and HBV intrauterine infection was analyzed by nested case-control study.

RESULTS26 of the 42 informative mother-baby pairs indicated mother-to-fetus cell traffic, 32 of the 40 informative mother-baby pairs indicated fetus-to-mother cell traffic and two-way cell traffic occurred in 10 mother-baby pairs. Statistical analysis demonstrated that the mother-to-fetus instead of fetus-to-mother cell traffic presented the association with HBV intrauterine infection. There was no significant correlation between mother-to-fetus cell traffic or the fetus-to-mother cell traffic. Both mother-to-fetus cell traffic and PBMC HBV DNA positivity appeared in pregnant women were risk factors of HBV intrauterine infection but the two did not manifest the interaction. The positive risk factors of positivity PBMC HBV DNA in newborns would included mother-to-fetus cell traffic and PBMC HBV DNA in pregnant women, also did not display the interaction.

CONCLUSIONThe cell traffic from HBsAg positive mother to fetus had more contribution to HBV intrauterine infection, which was possibly one of the HBV routes of intrauterine infecting.