Brief Reports
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 21, 2005; 11(23): 3582-3585
Published online Jun 21, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i23.3582
Transformation of hepatitis B serologic markers in babies born to hepatitis B surface antigen positive mothers
Jian-She Wang, Hui Chen, Qi-Rong Zhu
Jian-She Wang, Qi-Rong Zhu, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University; Department of Pediatrics, Shanghai Medical College Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
Hui Chen, Qi-Rong Zhu, Department of Infectious Diseases, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University; Department of Pediatrics, Shanghai Medical College Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by the Key-Subject Construction Project of Ministry of Public Health of China, No. 97030223 and the young researcher grant from Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, No. QN2001-5
Correspondence to: Dr. Jian-She Wang, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, 183 Fenglin Road, Shanghai 200032, China. jshwang@shmu.edu.cn
Telephone: +86-21-54524666-4030 Fax: +86-21-64038992
Received: December 15, 2004
Revised: December 16, 2004
Accepted: January 5, 2005
Published online: June 21, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To better understand the clinical significance of hepatitis B serologic markers in babies born to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive mothers, the incidence of maternal serologic markers of hepatitis B via placenta and its transformation in these babies were investigated.

METHODS: Mothers with positive HBsAg were selected in the third trimester of pregnancy. Their babies received immunoprophylaxis with hepatitis B immunoglobulin and hepatitis B vaccine after birth, and were consecutively followed up for hepatitis B serologic markers and HBV DNA at birth, mo 1, 4, 7, 12, and 24.

RESULTS: Forty-two babies entered the study, including 16 born to hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive HBsAg carrier mothers and 26 to HBeAg-negative HBsAg carrier mothers. Apart from four babies born to HBeAg-positive carrier mothers and demonstrated persistent positive HBeAg eventually became HBV carriers, all other babies developed anti-HBs before 12 mo of age. Among the other 12 babies born to HBeAg-positive carrier mothers, HBeAg was detected in 7 at birth, in 4 at mo 1, and in none of them thereafter. No antibody response to the transplacental HBeAg was detected. Among the babies born to HBeAg-negative carrier mothers, anti-HBe was detected 100% at birth and mo 1, in 88.5% at mo 4, in 46.2% at mo 7, in 4.2% at mo 12 and none in mo 24. Among all the immunoprophylaxis-protected babies born to either HBeAg-positive or HBeAg-negative carrier mothers, anti-HBc was detected in 100% at birth, mo 1 and mo 4, in 78.9% at mo 7, in 36.1% at mo 12 and in none at mo 24.

CONCLUSION: HBeAg can pass through human placenta from mother to fetus and become undetectable before 4 mo of age, but no antibodies response to the transplacental HBeAg can be detected till mo 24 in the immunoprophylaxis-protected babies. The sole existence of anti-HBe before 1 year of age or anti-HBc before 2 years of age in babies born to HBsAg carrier mothers may simply represent the transplacental maternal antibodies, instead of indicators of HBV infection status.

Keywords: Hepatitis B e antigen, Hepatitis B e antibody, Hepatitis B, Chronic, Maternal-infantile transmission, Hepatitis B surface antigen, Children