We investigate the effects of perfusion with electrolyte solution on secretion of mucus by the frog palatine mucosa. The amount of mucus secreted was determined by measuring the contents of hexosamine in the mucus. Ciliary movement was examined by the particle transport method. The goblet cells, which secret mucus in the ciliated epithelium, were examined under light and electron microscopes af...

The development of pathologic mucus, which is not readily cleared from the airways, is an important contributor to the morbidity and mortality associated with asthma. It is not clear how the major airway mucins MUC5AC and MUC5B are organized within the mucus gel or how this gel contributes to airway obstruction in asthma. Here, we demonstrated that mucus plugs from individuals with fatal asthma...

Airway inflammation is believed to stimulate mucus production in asthmatic patients. Increased mucus secretion is an important clinical symptom and contributes to airway obstruction in asthma. Activated CD4 Th1 and Th2 cells have both been identified in airway biopsies of asthmatics but their role in mucus production is not clear. Using CD4 T cells from mice transgenic for the OVA-specific TCR,...

The mucus that protects the surface of the gastrointestinal tract is rich in specialized O-glycoproteins called mucins, but little is known about other mucus proteins or their variability along the gastrointestinal tract. To ensure that only mucus was analyzed, we combined collection from explant tissues mounted in perfusion chambers, liquid sample preparation, single-shot mass spectrometry, an...

Mucus is secreted throughout the gastro-intestinal tract by a variety of specialised cells located in glands or in the surface epithelium. The prime func­ tion of the mucus layer is to protect the delicate underlying mucosa from dam­ age by potentially harmful agents in the lumen (such as digestive enzymes and bacteria) and by the mechanical forces associated with digestion and the pas­ sage of...

The highly motile human pathogen Helicobacter pylori lives deep in the gastric mucus layer. To identify which chemical gradient guides the bacteria within the mucus layer, combinations of luminal perfusion, dialysis, and ventilation were used to modify or invert transmucus gradients in anaesthetized Helicobacter-infected mice and Mongolian gerbils. Neither changes in lumen or arterial pH nor in...

Mucus, epithelial mucins and cytoprotection Epithelial mucins are widely accepted to play cytoprotective roles in the gastrointestinal tract. However, the number and nature of these complex glycoproteins is only just beginning to emerge. We aimed to identify the mucins in biopsies from human small intestine and colon in health and disease, by raising specific antisera and studying the biosynthe...

Rumen epithelium is a parakeratotic, stratified squamous epithelium which functions in metabolism, absorption, and protection . In previous light microscope histochemical studies (1, 3) and electron microscope studies (2) on this tissue, phenomena characteristic for both mucus-producing and keratinizing epithelia were described . The presence of mucus was demonstrated histochemically (1, 3) by ...

Mucus, a complex composed primarily of carbohydrates, is released in similar quantities by scleractinian warmand cold-water reef corals, and can function as an important carrier of organic material from corals to a range of consumers, microbes in particular. However, information about mucus chemical composition is rare for warm-water corals and non-existent for cold-water corals. This study the...

Helicobacter pylori and Campylobacter jejuni colonize the stomach and intestinal mucus, respectively. Using a combination of mucus-secreting cells, purified mucins, and a novel mucin microarray platform, we examined the interactions of these two organisms with mucus and mucins. H. pylori and C. jejuni bound to distinctly different mucins. C. jejuni displayed a striking tropism for chicken gastr...