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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

A High-throughput Cell Microarray Platform for Correlative Analysis of Cell Differentiation and Traction Forces
Published on: March 1, 2017
Differential expression of the anterior gradient protein-2 is a conserved feature during morphogenesis and
Sébastien Lepreux1, Paulette Bioulac-Sage, Eric Chevet
1Inserm U889, Université Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France. sebastien.lepreux@chu-bordeaux.fr
Background:
The anterior gradient protein-2 (AGR2) is overexpressed in numerous tumours such as breast, prostate or pancreas carcinomas and recently reported in fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Aims:
In the present study, we further describe AGR2 expression patterns all along the adult and fetal biliary tree and in cholangiocarcinomas.
Methods:
Immunohistochemistry using anti-AGR2 antibodies was performed in adult and fetal livers, gallbladders as well as cholangiocarcinomas and HCCs.
Results:
In adult and fetal liver, the tall epithelial cells covering the large bile ducts as well as gallbladder epithelial cells showed strong AGR2 staining. Hilar and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas, and a subset of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas, which displayed a morphological mucus-excreting feature, also displayed AGR2 expression. In contrast, AGR2 expression was not detected in typical HCCs.
Conclusion:
Our study shows that the differential expression of AGR2 is a phenotypic feature of the cholangiocytes covering different segments of the biliary tree. This pattern of expression is conserved during fetal and adult life, as well as during biliary carcinogenesis.
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