CD44 and cancer: To investigate if the difference in cancer susceptibility can be explained by variations in cellular compositions of the first pit of SCJ and antral glands, we performed serial immunostaining for the following markers: Lgr5-eGFP for stem cells, CD44 for stem/progenitor cells, Mucin5AC for pit cells, H+K+-ATPase for parietal cells, chromogranin A for neuroendocrine cells, and pepsinogen C for chief cells (Fig. 2a).