A mixed culture of human fecal bacteria was grown for 120 days in a three-stage continuous culture system. To reproduce some of the nutritional and pH characteristics of the large gut, each vessel had a different operating volume (0.3, 0.5, and 0.8 liter) and pH (6.0, 6.5, and 7.0). A mixture of polysaccharides and proteins was used as carbon and nitrogen sources. Measurements of H2, CH4, S2-, ...

Epithelial mucin glycoproteins of bladder act as an effective barrier against invasion by pathogenic microorganisms and injury by toxic substances in urine. Although these glycoconjugates play important roles in the pathophysiology of bladder disorders such as intestinal cystisis, cancer, and urinary tract infections, they have not been characterized in detail either in humans or in animals. Ra...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Antimicrobial activity in tears prevents infection while maintaining a commensal bacterial population. The relation between mucin and commensal bacteria was assessed to determine whether commensals possess mucinolytic activity, how degradation depends on mucin integrity, and whether mucins affect bacterial replication. METHODS Bacteria were sampled from healthy eyes and contac...

BACKGROUND Mucins are large, hydrophilic glycoproteins that protect wet-surfaced epithelia from pathogen invasion as well as provide lubrication. At least 17 mucin genes have been cloned to date. This study sought to determine the mucin gene expression profile of the human male urogenital tract epithelia, to determine if mucins are present in seminal fluid and to assess the effect of androgens ...

Interleukin 1beta(IL-1beta), a proinflammatory cytokine, is related with inflammatory diseases and it up-regulates MUC2 gene expression and mucin secretion. This study was designed to investigate the signal transduction pathway of the IL-1beta-mediated MUC2 gene expression and mucin secretion in human airway epithelial cells. In cultured human airway NCI-H292 epithelial cells, the steady state ...

PURPOSE To determine the association between mucin ball formation and corneal infiltrative events (CIEs) during continuous wear with lotrafilcon A silicone hydrogel contact lenses. METHODS Subjects (n = 205) in the Longitudinal Analysis of Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lens Study wore lotrafilcon A contact lenses for 12 months of continuous wear. The primary outcome was a CIE. Kaplan-Meier method...

Mucus hypersecretion by airway epithelium is a hallmark of inflammation in allergic asthma and results in airway narrowing and obstruction. Others have shown that administration a TH2 cytokine, IL-13 is sufficient to cause mucus hypersecretion in vivo and in vitro. Asthma therapy often utilizes β2-adrenoceptor (β2AR) agonists, which are effective acutely as bronchodilators, however chronic use ...

A high molecular weight, heavily glycosylated protein fraction was isolated from cobra venom. It consists of mucin-like glycoproteins (designated as cobra venom mucin) in noncovalent association with several lower molecular weight proteins and glycoproteins. The mucin was purified by CsBr density gradient centrifugation under dissociative conditions. The purified venom mucin comprised about 85%...

The mucus layer coating the gastrointestinal tract is the front line of innate host defense, largely because of the secretory products of intestinal goblet cells. Goblet cells synthesize secretory mucin glycoproteins (MUC2) and bioactive molecules such as epithelial membrane-bound mucins (MUC1, MUC3, MUC17), trefoil factor peptides (TFF), resistin-like molecule beta (RELMbeta), and Fc-gamma bin...

Introduction: Goblet cells secrete high molecular weight glycoprotein known as mucin which forms a protective mucus blanket throughout the G.I.T. The present work characterizes histochemically different types of mucin in colonic goblet cells & makes a comparative study in animal species of different food habit. Methods:After ethical clearance tissues were taken from the proximal part of colon o...