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Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Development of a Hepatitis B Virus Reporter System to Monitor the Early Stages of the Replication Cycle
Published on: February 1, 2017
Host genes regulate transcription of sperm-introduced hepatitis B virus genes in embryo
Ying Zhong1, Dong-Ling Liu2, Mohamed Morsi M Ahmed2
1Jinxin Research Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Genetics, Chengdu Jinjiang Hospital for Maternal and Child Health Care, 66 Jinxiu Road, Chengdu 610066, China.
Abstract:
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can invade the male germline, and sperm-introduced HBV genes could be transcribed in embryo. This study was to explore whether viral gene transcription is regulated by host genes. Embryos were produced by in vitro fertilization of hamster oocytes with human sperm containing the HBV genome. Total RNA extracted from test and control embryos were subjected to SMART-PCR, SSH, microarray hybridization, sequencing and BLAST analysis. Twenty-nine sequences showing significant identity to five human gene families were identified, with CSH2, EIF4G2, PCBD2, PSG4 and TTN selected to represent target genes. Using qRT-PCR, when CSH2 and PCBD2 (or EIF4G2, PSG4 and TTN) were silenced by RNAi, transcriptional levels of HBV s and x genes decreased (or increased). This is the first report that host genes participate in regulation of sperm-introduced HBV gene transcription in embryo, which is critical to prevent negative impact of HBV infection on early embryonic development.
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