BACKGROUND AND AIMS Mucin glycoproteins play a key role in the normal function of the epithelium lining the gastrointestinal tract. The expression of mucin genes, MUC 3, 4, 5AC, 5B, 6, 7, and 8 in human fetal tissues was examined to establish the localisation and age of onset of expression of each mucin gene during human development. METHODS Mucin gene expression was assayed by mRNA in situ h...

Chronic neutrophil-predominant inflammation and hypersecretion of mucus are common pathophysiological features of cystic fibrosis, chronic bronchitis, and viral- or pollution-triggered asthma. Neutrophils release elastase, a serine protease, that causes increased mucin production and secretion. The molecular mechanisms of elastase-induced mucin production are unknown. We hypothesized that as pa...

The molecular mechanisms of animal cell osmoregulation are poorly understood. Genetic studies of osmoregulation in yeast have identified mucin-like proteins as critical regulators of osmosensitive signaling and gene expression. Whether mucins play similar roles in higher organisms is not known. Here, we show that mutations in the Caenorhabditis elegans mucin-like gene osm-8 specifically disrupt...

Mucus hypersecretion is a prominent manifestation in patients with chronic inflammatory airway diseases, and MUC5AC is a major airway mucin. It is well known that reactive oxygen species (ROS) may be involved in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory airway diseases. The purpose of this study was to identify which secreted mucin genes are induced by exogenous hydrogen peroxide and the mechani...

Background: Mucins are large complex glycoproteins that protect intestinal mucosal surfaces by limiting access of environmental matter to their epithelial cells. Several mucin genes have been described, including MUC3 that is a membrane associated mucin of the small intestine. Increased MUC3 mRNA transcription is induced by incubation of intestinal epithelial cells with a Lactobacillus strain k...

Background: Chronic inflammation and dys-regulation of the immune system mechanisms are now well established as primary triggers of gastric cancer and peptic ulcer disease. Galectin-9 (Gal-9) is a member of the galectin family and known as an inducer of cell aggregation, adhesion and apoptosis. Gal-9 interaction with its main ligand T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain protein-3 (Tim-3) leads...

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. Better knowledge of the changes in gene expression that occur during gastric carcinogenesis may lead to improvements in diagnosis, treatment and prevention. In this study, we screened for genes upregulated in GC by comparing gene expression profiles from microarray and serial analysis of gene expression and identified the HOX...

Human submandibular/sublingual gland secretions contain a multimeric high molecular weight mucin (MG1) and a monomeric low molecular weight mucin (MG2). MG2 is the product of the MUC7 gene, whereas the gene for MG1 has not been identified. Previously, we isolated a clone (pSM2-1) from a human sublingual gland cDNA expression library using an antibody against deglycosylated MG1 (Troxler et al., ...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Fermentation of dietary fiber results in production of various short chain fatty acids in the colon. In particular, butyrate is reported to regulate the physical and functional integrity of the normal colonic mucosa by altering mucin gene expression or the number of goblet cells. The objective of this study was to investigate whether butyrate modulates mucin secretion in L...

In recent years, a number of new functions branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) - leucine, valine and isoleucine have been revealed in various states the body animals humans. BCAA are involved regulation metabolism not only proteins, but also lipids carbohydrates, maintain health mammary glands intestines, help early implantation development embryos. increase protein synthesis currently considered...