Excretory/secretory products of Fasciola hepatica but not recombinant phosphoglycerate kinase induce death of human hepatocyte cells

The liver fluke Fasciola hepatica infects a wide range of hosts, and has a considerable impact on the agriculture industry, mainly through infections of sheep and cattle. Further, human infection is now considered of public health importance and is hyperendemic in some regions. The fluke infection causes considerable damage to the hosts’ liver. However, the mechanisms of liver destruction have not yet been completely elucidated. In the present report we incubated a human liver cell line in the presence of either F. hepatica excretory/secretory material (FhES) or recombinant phosphoglycerate kinase (FhPGK). Dosedependent cytotoxicity in the presence of FhES was observed, indicating that FhES is capable of killing human hepatocytes, supporting a role for FhES in damaging host liver cells during infection; while treatment with a recombinant intracellular protein — FhPGK, had no impact on cell survival.