Functional processing of ocular mucins.

Abstract

Physiological functions for the preocular mucus gel are suggested by bulk properties of the gel and the general structure of mucins, i.e. alternating highly glycosylated (rigid) regions and poorly glycosylated (flexible) peptide domains. Eye-specific adaptations, e.g. short oligosaccharides, highly sialylated epitopes, suggest that these molecules are active at the ocular surface. Short oligosaccharides1 might be imposed by the transparency requirements of the preocular fluid or they might represent an adaptation to fast movement of resident entities through the preocular gel. Sialylated epitopes are an embodiment of the pro-2 and anti-adhesive3 properties of ocular mucins.KeywordsSalivary GlandLacrimal GlandExocrine GlandLabial GlandExocrine TissueThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.