Secretion of bicarbonate into the adherent layer of mucus gel creates a pH gradient with a near-neutral pH at the epithelial surfaces in stomach and duodenum, providing the first line of mucosal protection against luminal acid. The continuous adherent mucus layer is also a barrier to luminal pepsin, thereby protecting the underlying mucosa from proteolytic digestion. In this article we review t...

We present an experimentally guided, bi-phasic, multi-species ionic gel model to compare and make quantitative predictions on the viscoelastic properties of healthy mucus versus Cystic-Fibrosis infected mucus. The mixture theory consists of the mucus (polymer phase) and water (solvent phase) as well as several different ions: H+, Na+ , Cl and Ca2+. The model is calibrated with the experimental ...

Effective clearance of inhaled particles requires mucus production and continuous mucus transport from the lower airways to the oropharynx. Mucus production takes place mainly in the peripheral airways. Mucus transport is achieved by the action of the ciliated cells that cover the inner surface of the airways (mucociliary transport) and by expiratory airflow. The capacity for mucociliary transp...

It has been proposed that the chemical composition of a coral's mucus can influence the associated bacterial community. However, information on this topic is rare, and non-existent for corals that are under thermal stress. This study therefore compared the carbohydrate composition of mucus in the coral Acropora muricata when subjected to increasing thermal stress from 26 to 31°C, and determined...

Common gastropods such as snails crawl on a solid substrate by propagating muscular waves of shear stress on a viscoelastic mucus. Producing the mucus accounts for the largest component in the gastropod’s energy budget, more than twenty times the amount of mechanical work used in crawling. Using a simple mechanical model, we show that the shear-thinning properties of the mucus favor a decrease ...

ColdZyme® Mouth Spray (ColdZyme) is a mouth spray intended to reduce the probability of catching a cold and/or can help shorten the duration of a cold if used at an early stage of the infection, by forming a barrier on the pharyngeal mucous membrane. This study evaluated the preventative effect of ColdZyme on common cold infections in personnel at elderly care facilities, and assessed the level...

A gelatinous coat, heterogeneous in appearance, was formed over damaged rat gastric mucosa recovering from acute ethanol injury. This coat, in places 1.6 mm thick (median thickness 680 microns), was 10 times thicker than the translucent layer of adherent mucus (median thickness 70 microns) covering the undamaged mucosa. Immunohistochemistry and periodic acid Schiff staining showed this gelatino...