The extracellular proteinase Expi/Wfdc18 is overexpressed in various murine cancers and represents an animal model for HE4/WFDC2 overexpression in human tumours

Introduction: Recently we have investigated quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that determine susceptibility to TGF-beta signalling in mouse hepatocytes in vitro (Liebe et al. Physiol Genomics 2013). Expi/Wfdc18 candidacy was identified by eQTL and DNA variant analyses. We availed of a knockout mouse to assess a potential role in experimental fibrosis, and Expi/Wfdc18 knockouts showed decreased hepatic collagen contents following 6 weeks of CCl4 challenge. Methods: To assess the function of Expi outside its normal role in mammary gland development, we performed an in silico analyses of Expi/Wfdc18 expression in vari…