Differential expression of mucin genes in human salivary glands and characterization of the novel mucin, MUC19
Date
2006
DOI
Authors
Tolosa, Jose Javier
Version
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
Mucins are the major protein components of mucus which covers and protects many vital structures in the oral cavity as well as the digestive and respiratory systems. Mucins are secreted by both the submandibular and sublingual glands although little is known about differences in the types of mucins secreted by each gland. Therefore, the present investigation was done to compare expression patterns of MUC5B, MUC7 and MUC19 in the major salivary glands. The first part of our investigation used conventional RT-PCR methodology to determine the qualitative expression patterns for MUC5B, MUC7 and MUC19 in submandibular and sublingual gland. It was found that MUC5B was preferentially expressed in the sublingual gland, while MUC19 was more abundant in the glands. The results obtained from this expression study led us to the second part of this investigation in which quantitative real time PCR was used to determine the amount of each mucin present in each of the glands under study. This work confirmed our earlier results by demonstrating that MUC5B and MUC19 were expessed preferentially by the sublingual and submandibular glands, in both glands with slightly higher levels detected in the submandibular gland. This work led us to clone the novel secreted mucin, MUC1 and determine the nucleotide sequence of its arboxyl-terminal region. Surprisingly, our results showed that the cDNA for this mucin contained an in-frame stop codon , suggesting that this mucin may be a pseudogene despite the fact that it is expressed in other species.
Finally this investigation demonstrated that even though all mucins can be found in different glands under study, all the genes were expressed at different ratios. Future studies need to be done in order to determine if MUC19 is in fact a new type of salivary mucin.
Description
PLEASE NOTE: This work is protected by copyright. Downloading is restricted to the BU community: please click Download and log in with a valid BU account to access. If you are the author of this work and would like to make it publicly available, please contact open-help@bu.edu.
Thesis (MSD)--Boston University, Goldman School of Dental Medicine, 2006 (Periodontology and Oral Biology).
Includes bibliography: leaves 63-73.
Thesis (MSD)--Boston University, Goldman School of Dental Medicine, 2006 (Periodontology and Oral Biology).
Includes bibliography: leaves 63-73.
License
This work is protected by copyright. Downloading is restricted to the BU community. If you are the author of this work and would like to make it publicly available, please contact open-help@bu.edu.