BACKGROUND The bulb of Fritillaria thunbergii has been utilised as mucoregulators and expectorants for controlling the airway inflammatory diseases in folk medicine. HYPOTHESIS/PURPOSE We investigated whether verticine, ebeiedine and suchengbeisine isolated from the bulbs of Fritillaria thunbergii inhibit the gene expression and production of MUC5AC mucin from human airway epithelial cells. ...

BACKGROUND We investigated whether wogonin and apigenin significantly affect the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway involved in MUC5AC mucin gene expression, and production from cultured airway epithelial cells; this was based on our previous report that apigenin and wogonin suppressed MUC5AC mucin gene expression and production from human airway epithelial cells. METHO...

OBJECTIVES To review the importance of mucin on a molecular level in the understanding of the pathophysiology of otitis media and to present new data demonstrating differential up-regulation of specific mucin genes during inflammation of middle ear epithelium. DESIGN Primary chinchilla middle ear epithelial cultures (CMEECs) were established and exposed to tumor necrosis factor alpha and inte...

The mucus layer that coats the airway epithelium provides a protective barrier against pathogenic and noxious agents and participates in the mucosal response to inflammation and infection. Airway mucus is composed of water, ions, lung secretions, serum protein transudates, and mucin glycoproteins (mucins). Mucins are the major components of mucus and the macromolecules that impart rheologic pro...

In this review, we summarize work over the past 15 years on mucin gene expression and regulation in the lung, as well as how mucin gene expression is altered in chronic lung diseases. This field owes a great debt to Carol Basbaum for her pioneering work in dissecting signaling pathways regulating mucin gene expression and for her tremendous energy in promoting the importance of understanding th...

Ovarian cancer is a highly lethal disease with metastases present in the majority of patients at the time of diagnosis. The molecular mechanisms underlying the metastatic process of this cancer are not well understood. One family of cell-associated and secreted glycoproteins, the mucin glycoproteins, has been implicated in events leading to metastasis of several epithelial cancers including gas...

BACKGROUND In this study, we investigated whether lobetyolin, lobetyol, and methyl linoleate derived from Codonopsis pilosula affect MUC5AC mucin secretion, production, and gene expression from airway epithelial cells. METHODS Confluent NCI-H292 cells were pretreated with lobetyolin, lobetyol, or methyl linoleate for 30 minutes and then stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) fo...

PURPOSE Fungi, rhinoviruses (RVs), and eosinophils are associated with upper respiratory diseases. We evaluated the effects of fungal stimulation and eosinophil co-culture on the expression of mucin genes in RV-infected nasal polyp epithelial cells. METHODS Nasal polyp epithelial cells were obtained from chronic rhinosinusitis patients. Cultured epithelial cells were stimulated with Alternari...