Comparative histopathology of Opisthorchis felineus and Opisthorchis viverrini in a hamster model: an implication of high pathogenicity of the European liver fluke

European liver fluke (Opisthorchis felineus) and Asian liver fluke (Opisthorchis viverrini) are similar in morphology but comparative pathology of the infections has not been described. We therefore did comparative histopathology of both parasites in an experimental animal model. The study was conducted in 3 groups of 105 Syrian golden hamsters; the first and second groups fed with 50 metacercariae of O. felineus (OF) or O. viverrini (OV) and the last group was uninfected controls. Five hamsters in each group were euthanized on weeks 1, 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 post-infection. The liver tissue was fixed and processed for routine histopathology and immunohistochemistry for proliferation markers (BrdU or PCNA). Overall, the liver histopathology of O. felineus and O. viverrini infection was generally similar. However, various histopathogical features including intense inflammation, fibrosis, biliary and goblet cell hyperplasia and dysplasia occurred earlier in the OF group. In addition, the existence of precancerous lesions such as cholangiofibrosis in a long-term infection was observed only in this group. O. felineus is larger in size than O. viverrini which, together with its excreted and secreted antigens, likely is crucial in the induction of liver fluke induced disease. The differences in nature and timing of the histopathological profile indicate that opisthorchiasis caused by the European liver fluke O. felineus is more pathogenic than its Asian relative O. viverrini.