Effect of fibronectin on HBV infection in primary human fetal hepatocytes in vitro.

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of fibronectin (FN) on primary cultured human fetal hepatocytes infected by hepatitis B virus (HBV) in vitro. Human fetal hepatocytes infected by HBV were cultured on culture dishes coated with FN in vitro. HBsAg and HBeAg in supernatants were detected by ELISA, HBcAg in nuclei by immunohistochemistry, HBV DNA by fluorescent quantitative PCR and covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) by nested PCR. The results were compared with cells cultured on dishes that were not coated with FN. Positivity for HBsAg and HBeAg in supernatants appeared from day 5 on the non-coated dishes, while positivity for HBsAg and HBeAg appeared from day 1 on the coated dishes. Positivity for HBcAg in the nuclei on the non-coated dishes was displayed from day 2 with a positive rate of 15%, while positivity for HBcAg on the coated dishes was displayed from day I with a positive rate of >90%. HBV DNA in cells on the non-coated dishes was detected from day 4, while that on the coated dishes was detected from day I. The non-coated dishes were positive for cccDNA from day 8, while the coated dishes were positive from day 2. FN coating is capable of accelerating HBV infection in primary cultured fetal hepatocytes in vitro, increasing the duration of HBV infection and the number of infected cells.