protoscoleces promotes proliferation and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

There may exist a connection between infection and cancer development. Here, it is aimed to investigate specific effects of protoscoleces (PSCs) on the proliferation and invasion capacities of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells in vitro and ex vitro. HepG2 cells were cultured with different quantities of PSCs in vitro. MTT analysis was used to evaluate effects of PSCs on the proliferation of HepG2 cells. Besides, scratch and transwell assays were respectively used for the detection of HepG2 cells migration and invasion capacities after co-culture with PSCs. Then, HepG2 cells were subcutaneously transplanted into nude mice with or without PSCs. From the 25th day of transplantation, the volume of subcutaneous lesions was measured every four days. At the 37th day, subcutaneous lesions were removed and their weight was evaluated. H&E staining was used for detecting basic pathological changes. HepG2 cells grew well without obvious morphological changes. Proliferation rate and migration capacity of HepG2 cells were higher in the co-culture group than the control group, which was closely associated with quantities of PSCs and co-culture time length. Moreover, HepG2 cells co-cultured with PSCs had stronger invasion ability than the control HepG2 cells. Importantly, there existed significant differences in the volume and weight of subcutaneous lesions after transplanting HepG2 cells with PSCs than the control group. HepG2 cells were also more pathologically heterogeneous in morphology after transplantation with PSCs. Thus, PSCs may promote proliferation and invasion of HCC cells.