%0 Journal Article
%T Antimicrobial glycoprotein 2 (GP2) in gallstones, bile fluid and peribiliary glands of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis.
%A Lopens S
%A Schierack P
%A Krause J
%A Piaszczyński M
%A Król R
%A Staroń R
%A Krupa Ł
%A Gutkowski K
%A Kruk B
%A Grąt M
%A Krawczyk M
%A Patkowski W
%A Glaser F
%A Rödiger S
%A Grossmann K
%A Pająk J
%A Milkiewicz P
%A Lammert F
%A Zieniewicz K
%A Schramm C
%A Roggenbuck D
%A Krawczyk M
%J Clin Chim Acta
%V 562
%N 0
%D 2024 Aug 15
%M 38964568
%F 6.314
%R 10.1016/j.cca.2024.119841
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Glycoprotein-2 (GP2) IgA is a predictor of disease severity in primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). We examined GP2's occurrence in the biliary tract, the site of inflammation.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>GP2 was analyzed using ELISA, immunoblotting, mass spectrometry, and immunohistochemistry. The samples included: 20 bile and 30 serum samples from PSC patients, 23 bile and 11 serum samples from patients with gallstone disease (GD), 15 bile samples from healthy individuals undergoing liver-donation surgery (HILD), 20 extracts of gallstones (GE) obtained during cholecystectomy, and 101 blood-donor sera.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Biliary GP2 concentrations were significantly higher in patients with PSC and GD than in HILD (p < 0.0001). Serum GP2 levels were similar in PSC and GD patients, and controls, but lower than in bile (p < 0.0001). GP2 was detected in all 20 GEs. Mass spectrometry identified GP2 in the bile of 2 randomly selected GD and 2 PSC patients, and in none of 2 HILD samples. GP2 was found in peribiliary glands in 8 out of 12 PSC patients, showing morphological changes in acinar cells, but not in GD-gallbladders.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>GP2 is present in bile of PSC and GD patients. It is synthesized in the peribiliary glands of PSC patients, supporting a pathogenic role for biliary GP2 in PSC.