Heterogeneity of the immune microenvironment in hepatic alveolar echinococcosis and its impact on disease progression

CHINESE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY AND PARASITIC DISEASES ›› 2025, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (4): 581-587.doi: 10.12140/j.issn.1000-7423.2025.04.020

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Heterogeneity of the immune microenvironment in hepatic alveolar echinococcosis and its impact on disease progression

SHI Dalin1,2,3()(), PANG Mingquan1,2, WU Defang1,2, XU Xiaolei1,2, WANG Cheng1,2, FAN Haining1,2,*()()   

  1. 1 Qinghai University Affiliated Hospital, Xining 810001, Qinghai, China
    2 Qinghai Province Key Laboratory of Hydatid Disease Research, Xining 810001, Qinghai, China
    3 Research Center for High Altitude Medicine, Qinghai University, Xining 810001, Qinghai, China
  • Received:2024-12-11 Revised:2025-02-25 Online:2025-08-30 Published:2025-10-09
  • Contact: E-mail: fanhaining@medmail.com.cn
  • Supported by:
    Qinghai Science and Technology Department 2022 Science and Technology Project (Qinghai Key Laboratory of Echinococcosis Research);National Clinical Key Specialty Construction Project for Hepatobiliary Surgery (Hydatid Disease) at the Affiliated Hospital of Qinghai University (Qinghai Health Commission No. 125);Qinghai University Affiliated Hospital Young and Middle-Aged Research Fund General Project(ASRF-2023-YB-03)

Abstract:

Hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (HAE), a severe parasitic disease caused by Echinococcus multilocularis larvae infections in the liver, is characterized by high rates of disability and mortality and poses a great threat to both human and animal health. It has been recently found that the immune microenvironment in HAE exhibits considerable heterogeneity, which not only influences host immune responses to parasites, but also poses important impacts on disease progression and clinical manifestations. This article reviews the latest advances in the immune microenvironment of HAE from the perspective of immune microenvironment heterogeneity, discusses the impact on disease progression and proposes future research directions.

Key words: Hepatic alveolar echinococcosis, Immune microenvironment, Heterogeneity, Disease progression

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