There may exist a connection between Echinococcus granulosus infection and cancer development. Here, it is aimed to investigate specific effects of E. granulosus 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 E. granulosus PSCs in vitro. MTT analysis was used to evaluate effects of E. granulosus 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 E. granulosus PSCs. Then, HepG2 cells were subcutaneously transplanted into nude mice with or without E. granulosus 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 E. granulosus PSCs and co-culture time length. Moreover, HepG2 cells co-cultured with E. granulosus 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 E. granulosus PSCs than the control group. HepG2 cells were also more pathologically heterogeneous in morphology after transplantation with E. granulosus PSCs. Thus, E. granulosus PSCs may promote proliferation and invasion of HCC cells.

细粒棘球绦虫感染与癌症发展之间可能存在联系。在此，旨在研究细粒棘球蚴原头节（PSC）对体外和离体肝细胞癌（HCC）细胞增殖和侵袭能力的具体影响。HepG2细胞与不同数量的细粒棘球绦虫PSC在体外培养。采用MTT分析评价细粒棘球绦虫PSC对HepG2细胞增殖的影响。此外，分别采用划痕实验和Transwell实验检测HepG2细胞与细粒棘球绦虫PSC共培养后的迁移和侵袭能力。然后，将HepG2细胞皮下移植到有或没有细粒棘球绦虫PSC的裸鼠体内。从移植第25天开始，每四天测量一次皮下病灶体积。第37天，去除皮下病灶并评估其重量。H&E染色用于检测基本病理变化。HepG2细胞生长良好，无明显形态变化。共培养组HepG2细胞的增殖率和迁移能力均高于对照组，这与细粒棘细胞PSC的数量和共培养时间密切相关。此外，与细粒棘球绦虫PSC共培养的HepG2细胞比对照HepG2细胞具有更强的侵袭能力。重要的是，细粒棘球绦虫PSC移植HepG2细胞后皮下病灶的体积和重量与对照组相比存在显着差异。细粒棘球绦虫PSC移植后，HepG2 细胞在形态学上也更具病理异质性。因此，细粒棘球绦虫PSC可能促进HCC细胞的增殖和侵袭。