To investigate the expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) in hepatic hydatid cyst wall and surrounding liver tissues and their correlation with liver fibrosis.

Clinical specimens were collected from 82 patients with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis undergoing surgery in Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from June 2020 to August 2024. The informed consents of all patients were obtained and the local ethical committee approval was received. Among them, 51 patients were male and 31 female, aged from 19 to 59 years, with a median age of 38 years. Intraoperatively, cyst wall tissues and the tissues adjacent to the lesions were collected. All tissues were subject to liver fibrosis staging and scoring. The expression profile of bFGF, PDGF-A and PDGF-B at mRNA and protein levels in all tissues were determined by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blot, respectively. The expression levels of bFGF, PDGF-A and PDGF-B in different tissues were compared by t-test. The stage of liver fibrosis was compared by rank-sum test. The correlation between bFGF, PDGF-A and PDGF-B and the stage of liver fibrosis was assessed by Spearman or Pearson correlation analyses.

Knodell fibrosis score of the cyst wall was 1 in 7 patients, 2 in 51 cases and 3 in 24 cases, respectively. Knodell fibrosis score of tissues adjacent to the lesions was 0 in 72 patients, 1 in 8 cases and 2 in 2 cases, respectively. The difference was statistically significant (Z=11.475, P<0.001). The relative expression levels of bFGF, PDGF-A and PDGF-B mRNA in the cyst wall were 2.27±0.56, 1.74±0.43 and 1.61±0.33, and 0.61±0.13, 0.41±0.12 and 0.56±0.11 in tissues adjacent to the lesions, respectively. The difference was statistically significant (t=26.251,23.213,27.223; all P<0.001). The relative expression levels of proteins in two groups were 2.11±0.59, 1.94±0.48, 1.52±0.34, and 0.55±0.14, 0.44±0.12, 0.49±0.12, respectively. The differences were also statistically significant (t=27.368, 26.972, 25.989; all P<0.001). Correlation analysis showed that the relative expression levels of bFGF, PDGF-A and PDGF-B mRNA in the cystic wall tissues were positively correlated with the stage of fibrosis (r_s=0.688, 0.787, 0.647; all P<0.001). A significant positive correlation was observed in the relative expression levels of bFGF, PDGF-A and PDGF-B mRNA (r=0.673, 0.604, 0.704; all P<0.001).

The expression levels of bFGF, PDGF-A and PDGF-B in the cyst wall of alveolar echinococcosis are significantly higher than those in the surrounding liver tissues, which are intimately correlated with the severity of fibrosis in the cyst wall.