The physical character and amount of mucus secreted by the endocervix changes dramatically during the menstrual cycle to facilitate sperm migration at the time of midcycle ovulation. Mucins are highly glycosylated, high-molecular-weight proteins, which are the major structural components of the protective mucus gel covering all wet-surfaced epithelia, including that of the endocervix. We have p...

Mucins are highly O-glycosylated molecules which in mammalian cells accomplish essential functions, like cytoprotection and cell-cell interactions. In the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, mucin-related glycoproteins have been shown to play a relevant role in the interaction with and invasion of host cells. We have previously reported a family of mucin-like genes in T. cruzi whose overall s...

BACKGROUND Proteases have been shown to degrade airway mucin proteins and to damage the epithelium impairing mucociliary clearance. There are increased proteases in the COPD airway but changes in protease-antiprotease balance and mucin degradation have not been investigated during the course of a COPD exacerbation. We hypothesized that increased protease levels would lead to mucin degradation i...

Airway mucin secretion studies have focused on goblet cell responses to exogenous agonists almost to the exclusion of baseline mucin secretion (BLMS). In human bronchial epithelial cell cultures (HBECCs), maximal agonist-stimulated secretion exceeds baseline by ~3-fold as measured over hour-long periods, but mucin stores are discharged completely and require 24 h for full restoration. Hence, ov...

A population of tumor-reactive cytotoxic T-cells can be propagated from tumor-draining lymph nodes of patients with breast adenocarcinoma. These T-cells specifically recognize breast and pancreatic tumor cells in a major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-unrestricted fashion but not other tumors of epithelial origin or the natural killer target K562. The tumor-specific but MHC-unrestricted lytic...

Secondary mucin deposition in the skin is a common feature of lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis. In scleroderma, it occurs uncommonly or in small amount. We describe a 7-year-old boy with progressive, linear, bound-down plaques involving the thighs, lower abdomen and back with no systemic involvement. Histopathology showed features of scleroderma with abundant mucin deposition in the reti...

The most common non-neoplastic lesion of salivary gland tissue is the mucocele (also called sialocele and ptyalocele). A mucocele is defined as the pooling of mucin in a cystic cavity. Two types of mucoceles are recognized: (1) the retention type, in which the mucin pooling is confined within a dilated excretory duct or cyst, and (2) the extravasation type, in which mucin is spilled into the co...