Objective:To detect the expressions of anterior gradient protein 2 (AGR2) in the cultures of three colon cancer cell lines SW480, SW620 and COLO205, and to investigate the effects of different concentrations of exogenous AGR2 on the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of SW620 cells.Methods:Western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of AGR2 protein in SW480, SW620 and COLO205 colon cancer cell cultures. SW620 cells were divided into blank control group, anterior gradient protein 2 homologous human recombinant protein (rAGR2) low concentration group (100 μg/ml) and rAGR2 high concentration group (200 μg/ml), and CCK-8 assay, cell scratch assay and Transwell migration and invasion assay were used to detect the effects of different concentrations of rAGR2 on the biological behaviors of SW620 cells.Results:Western blotting results showed that the expression levels of AGR2 protein in SW480, SW620 and COLO205 cells were 0.545±0.097, 0.662±0.040 and 0.882±0.156 respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=7.46, P=0.024). The level of AGR2 protein in COLO205 cell line was significantly higher than that in SW480 and SW620 cell lines ( P=0.009; P=0.047). The results of CCK-8 experiment showed that the proliferative activities of SW620 cells in the blank control group, rAGR2 low concentration group and rAGR2 high concentration group were 0.422±0.031, 0.542±0.040 and 0.574±0.033 respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=26.35, P<0.001), and the rAGR2 low concentration group and rAGR2 high concentration group were significantly higher than the blank control group (both P<0.001). The results of cell scratching assay showed that the percentage of 36 h cell scratching area was (28.029±2.107)%, (20.642±0.983)% and (16.951±1.608)% for the three groups of cells respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=35.85, P<0.001), the rAGR2 low concentration group was higher than the blank control group ( P=0.001), and the rAGR2 high concentration group was higher than the rAGR2 low concentration group ( P=0.032). The results of cell migration assay showed that the number of cells migrated in the three groups was 447.1±32.3, 513.1±55.8 and 632.4±50.3 respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=35.62, P<0.001), the rAGR2 low concentration group was more than the blank control group ( P=0.007), and the rAGR2 high concentration group was more than the rAGR2 low concentration group ( P<0.001). The results of the invasion assay showed that the number of cells invaded in the three groups was 369.1±56.1, 505.1±34.4 and 579.0±71.5 respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=32.40, P<0.001), the rAGR2 low concentration group was more than the blank control group ( P<0.001), and the rAGR2 high concentration group was more than the rAGR2 low concentration group ( P=0.010). Conclusion:The expression of AGR2 protein varies in the extracellular fluid of different invasive colon cancer cells and increases with the invasive ability. AGR2 protein can increase the proliferation, migration and invasive abilities of colon cancer cells SW620.