Vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus from father to child: what can be concluded about this possibility?

Abstract

Vertical hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission is defined as transmission that occurs during pregnancy or postpartum from an HBV-infected mother to her fetus or child. It is an efficient route for the spread of HBV and is responsible for most of the cases of chronic HBV infection in adults. During pregnancy, vertical transmission can occur in the intrauterine phase, by placental infection via peripheral blood mononuclear cells, by placental leakage, or through female germ cells.The detection of HBV DNA in semen and spermatids from HBV-infected men has provided strong evidence that the male genital tract may act as a reservoir of the virus in HBV-infected men, supporting the possibility that vertical HBV transmission from an HBV-infected father to his child may also occur via the germ line at the time of fertilization, as occurs in HBV transmission from mother to child. Furthermore, it has been shown that integration of the HBV genome into the sperm cell genome can compromise sperm morphology and function and even cause hereditary or congenital biological effects in the offspring when an HBV-infected sperm fuses with an ovum.Since vertical HBV transmission from father to child can be a topic of interest and of global importance for controlling the spread of HBV, this article addresses the evidence supporting its occurrence via germ cells, the biological impact of integration of the HBV genome into the male germ cell genome, and the role of maternal immunoprophylaxis in vertical HBV transmission from father to child.

Keywords: HBV integration; Hepatitis B virus; Immunoprophylaxis; Male germ cells; Vertical HBV transmission.