Hepatitis B virus impacts embryonic development and methylation of maternal genes in assisted reproductive technology patients.

Purpose: In China, the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among infertile couples is a significant clinical problem. It is necessary to determine the effect of HBV infection on embryo development.

Methods: The 4301 fresh cycles and 5763 frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles were grouped according to the couple with or without HBV infection. The embryo fertilization rate, cleavage rate, transplantable embryo rate, and rate of high-quality embryos were analysed. The methylation status of maternal antigen that embryos require (MATER), zygote arrest 1 (ZAR1) and growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) genes in the peripheral blood of assisted reproductive technology (ART) women was detected by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP).

Results: The pregnancy rate of the female HBV-positive group was significantly lower than that of the HBV-negative group. The fertilization rate of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles in the male HBV-positive group was significantly lower than that of the male HBV-negative group. There were no differences in biochemistry or clinical pregnancy rates among the FET groups. The promoter methylation of GDF9 in HBV-positive ART women was higher than that in HBV-negative ART women, and that of ZAR1 in HBV-positive ART women was lower than that in HBV-negative ART women.

Conclusion: It was a detrimental effect of HBV infection on in vitro fertilization (IVF) and ICSI treatment outcomes in women. The HBV infection was associated with the maternal genes promoting methylation.