To my beloved family. AbstrAct The human body is continuously exposed to challenges from the surrounding world. In analogy with the skin, mucus is a well-organized and highly regulated barrier composed of polymeric and O-glycosylated mucins that protects luminal organs such as the gastrointestinal tracts from the outer milieu. As part of a first defensive barrier, the secreted mucins entrap pat...

The distribution of neutral mucins, sialomucins and sulphomucins was determined histochemically in the duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana). The techniques used were periodic acid-Schiff (PAS), alcian blue/periodic acid-Schiff (AB-PAS), high-iron-diamine/alcian blue (HID-AB), alcian blue at varying pH solutions and alcian blue at high temperature after...

It has been proposed that self and protozoan-derived GPI anchors are natural ligands of CD1d. In this study, we investigated the ability of GPI anchors from Trypanosoma cruzi to bind to CD1d and mediate activation of NKT cells. We observed that GPI-anchored mucin-like glycoproteins (GPI mucins), glycoinositolphospholipids (GIPLs), and their phosphatidylinositol moieties bind to rCD1d and inhibi...

Rationale: Overproduction of mucus is a contributory factor in the progression of COPD. The polymeric mucins are major macromolecules in the secretion. Therefore, we hypothesized that the polymeric mucin composition or properties may be different in the sputum from individuals with COPD and smokers without airflow obstruction. Objectives: To determine the major polymeric mucins in COPD sputum a...

Mucus secretions form a protective barrier in the mucosa of the auditory, gastrointestinal, respiratory, and urogenital systems, and the conjunctiva in the eyes. A family of glycoproteins known as gel forming mucins is the major component of the mucus. Gel-forming mucins are among the largest and most complex proteins known. Their polypeptide chains comprise thousands of amino acid residues org...

The oral mucosal pellicle is a layer of absorbed salivary proteins, including secretory IgA (SIgA), bound onto the surface of oral epithelial cells and is a useful model for all mucosal surfaces. The mechanism by which SIgA concentrates on mucosal surfaces is examined here using a tissue culture model with real saliva. Salivary mucins may initiate the formation of the mucosal pellicle through i...

OBJECTIVES The carbohydrate chains represented by mucins (MUCs) are expressed by a variety of normal and malignant secretory epithelial cells and induce a variety of immunoreactions. Tn and sialyl Tn antigens are tumour-associated carbohydrate antigens which are borne on the core proteins of mucins. The purpose of this study is to investigate the existence of tumour-associated carbohydrate anti...

Intact oligomeric gastric mucins were isolated from the fundic part of rat and human stomach. Physicochemical properties of the oligomeric mucins from both species, such as buoyant density, molecular mass, proteinase-resistance, amino acid composition and monosaccharide composition were similar. Biochemical analysis showed that the oligomeric mucins from both species consist of disulphide-linke...

Mucins are a family of secreted and transmembrane glycoproteins characterized by a massive domain of dense O-glycosylation on serine and threonine residues. Mucins are intimately involved in immunity and cancer, yet elucidation of the biological roles of their glycodomains has been complicated by their massive size, domain polymorphisms, and variable glycosylation patterns. Here we developed a ...