Extracellular vesicles derived from Echinococcus granulosus hydatid cyst fluid may modulate liver fibrosis through 5-HT2B receptor

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) play an important role in cell communication, signal transduction, and the modulation of metabolic processes. The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of Echinococcus granulosus hydatid cyst fluid (HCF) and its EVs on serotonin receptors liver cell line. The expression level of 5-HT 2A receptor gene showed significant increase in EVs and HCF treated cells after 24 h, 1.73 ( p < 0.0001) and 1.62 ( p = 0.0084), and 48 h, 1.39 ( p = 0.0069), 1.66 ( p = 0.0034) respectively. A significant decrease in expression of 5-HT 2B receptor gene was seen in the EVs and the HCF group during the first 24 h, p < 0.0001 (EVs: -6.33, HCF: -1.84), while this downregulation in EVs-treated cells was decreased after 48 h (-1.94; p < 0.0001). Furthermore, the gene expression of the liver enzymes, aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT), was significantly changed in both HCF and EVs groups. The findings indicate that HCF and its EVs may alter serotonin receptors gene expression. These results suggest that HCF and its EVs may modulate the fibrosis pathways through decreasing the expression of 5-HT 2B receptor.