Experimental study on the proliferating activity and differentiation of renal stem cells in superinvasive opisthorchiasis

AIM: This study aimed to identify the replication potential of the kidneys in different forms of opisthorchiasis in laboratory animals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An experiment was conducted on 60 Syrian male hamsters. The first group was set as the control (n = 10), the second group (n = 25) was infected with metacercariae (Opisthorchis felineus), and the third group (n = 25) was a model of a superinvasive form of opisthorchiasis infection with 50 O. felineus larvae and repeated infection with 50 metacercariae in 14 and 25 days. The hamsters were withdrawn from the experiment on days 7, 15, and 30 via an overdose of narcosis and decapitation. The kidneys were isolated and histologically examined through histochemical and immunohistochemical staining methods. Microscopy was conducted, and results were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The quantitative characteristics, proliferation tendencies, and differentiation of regional stem cells were identified. In the cortical and medullary substance of the kidneys, CD117, Oct4, and CD34 markers were expressed, and CD31-positive stem cells further differentiated to progenitor cells. Epithelial structures developed in the form of tubules. In the glomeruli, vasculogenesis occurred, and the number of vascular loops increased. CONCLUSION: O. felineus secretome initiated the activation of stem cells in the renal tubules and pericytes of a microcirculatory network. The transitional epithelium of the renal pelvis and the initial parts of the ureter proliferated. Under the action of the secretome of parasites, stem cells proliferated directly in glomerular loops.