Among the genes that were more abundantly expressed in ECO were Aquaporin5 (AQP5), a classic water transporter-channel known to be expressed on cholangiocytes and pancreatic epithelium and to a lesser degree by hepatocytes, and Insulin Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 1 (IGFBP1) known to be involved in ductular reactions of the biliary epithelium in response to liver damage19. This evidence concerns the gene AQP5 and endocrine-cerebro-osteodysplasia syndrome.