In the present study, we investigated whether apigenin significantly affects tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced production and gene expression of MUC5AC mucin in airway epithelial cells. Confluent NCI-H292 cells were pretreated with apigenin for 30 min and then stimulated with TNF-α for 24 h or the indicated periods. The MUC5AC mucin gene expression and mucin protein production were measur...

BACKGROUND Over expression of mucin often leads to serious airway pathologies. The rhizome of Zingiber cassumunar Roxb. ("Phlai" in Thai) has been used as an anti-asthmatic drug in Thai traditional medicine. However, the effect of this plant on mucin production has not been reported. OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to investigate whether crude ethanolic extracts of Zingiber cassumu...

Human airway trypsin-like protease (HAT) is a serine protease found in sputum of patients with chronic airway diseases and is an agonist of protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2). Results from this study show that HAT treatment also enhances mucus production by the airway epithelial cell line NCI-H292 in vitro. Histologic examination showed that HAT enhances mucous glycoconjugate synthesis, wher...

BACKGROUND We investigated whether prunetin significantly affects tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced MUC5AC mucin gene expression, production, inhibitory kappa B (IκB) degradation and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) p65 translocation in human airway epithelial cells. METHODS Confluent NCI-H292 cells were pretreated with prunetin for 30 minutes and then stimulated with TNF-α for 24 hours o...

Mucosal epithelial cells in the intestine act as the first line of host defense against pathogens by increasing mucin production for clearance. Despite this fact, the underlying molecular mechanisms by which Shigella dysenteriae transduce mucin gene expression remain poorly defined. The goal of this study was to determine the role of Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathway in mucin gene expres...

MUC5B is a major mucin of the human respiratory tract, and it is not clear how MUC5B expression is regulated in various airway diseases. The goal of this study was to determine the mechanisms by which 17beta-estradiol induces MUC5B gene expression in airway epithelial cells. It was found that E2, a sex hormone, stimulates MUC5B gene overexpression by interaction with estrogen receptor alpha (ER...

Mucins are high molecular weight glycoproteins which are heavily glycosylated with many carbohydrate side chains. In epithelial cancers such as biliopancreatic cancer, both quantitative and qualitative alterations in carbohydrate and polypeptide moieties of mucin glycoproteins occur. These changes in mucin glycoproteins are one of the most common phenotypic markers of biliopancreatic carcinogen...

Fudosteine is a novel mucoactive agent, although little is known about how fudosteine decreases mucin production. The present study examined the effects of fudosteine on MUC5AC mucin synthesis and cellular signalling. An animal model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation and a bronchial epithelial cell line model of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-induced inflammation were used. F...

BACKGROUND Aberrations in expression of mucin glycoproteins have been observed during malignant transformation of human ovarian epithelium. To date, several secretory mucin genes designated the MUC gene family have been identified, of which MUC1 encodes a mammary-type and MUC2 an intestinal-type epithelial mucin. However, information on the expression and potential value of MUC1 and MUC2 mucins...

A germ-free (GF) chicken model was used to test 2 hypotheses: 1. microbial colonization of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) influences mucin gene expression and mucin types; and 2. mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) supplementation affects GIT cells directly, without bacteria mediation, compared with bacterial-mediated effect (i.e., indirectly). Gnotobiotic isolators were used: 1) GF, 2) with a singl...