Gastric mucosubstances composition

Use of highly alkaline solution, such as bicarbonates, causes excessive liquefaction of mucus, due to depolymerization of mucosubstances and to potentiation of the activity of mucolysin at this pH. This would result, unavoidably, in changing the composition of gastric mucosubstances. 

Other workers determined the entire carbohydrate spectrum of human gastric juice in an attempt to evaluate the composition of gastric mucosubstances. Richmond et al. (R4) and Hoskins and Zamcheck (H50) studied a large number of individual gastric juices in our laboratory (G55) a large pool of normal gastric juices was studied for hexoses, hexosamine, fucose, sialic acid, uronic acid, and total carbohydrate content. Results obtained in normals and patients with various gastric diseases are summarized in Tables 8 and 9. 

The existence of more than one mucoprotein in the dissolved mucin fraction of the gastric juice was further substantiated in our laboratory (G26, G27, G36). We found (G27) that the composition of dissolved mucin varied markedly, depending upon the stimulus applied to gastric secretion. These variations included degree of hydration, extractability with 60% alcohol, and content of tyrosine, nitrogen, and reducing substances. We therefore postulated that, in man, at least two but probably three different mucous substances were present within the mixture of mucosubstances called dissolved gastric mucin (Gll, G27) (Fig. 16). 

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