Mucus glycoproteins properties

Carlstedt, I. and Sheehan, J. K. Stmctnre and macromolecnlar properties of cervical mucus glycoproteins. Symposia of the Society for Experimental Biology 1989, 43, 289-316. 

Carlstedt, I. Sheehan, J. K. (1984). Macromolecular properties and polymeric structure of mucus glycoproteins. In Mucus and mucosa, ed. J. C. Nugent M. O Connor, pp. 157-72. Ciba Foundation Symposium, no. 109. Pitman Press London. 

Sheehan, L Carlstedt, I. Hydrodynamic properties of human cervical mucus glycoproteins in 6M-guanidinum chloride. Biochem. J. 1984, 217, 93-101. 

Knowledge of the structure and behavior of mucus glycoproteins in solution is crucial for a proper understanding of their behavior in situ, where they often exist in a more concentrated form. It is these molecules which generally dictate the physical properties of mucus (namely, high viscosity, viscoelastic... 

The viscous and gel-forming properties of mucus secretions are derived from mucin glycoprotein constituents (5%) they also contains protein, lipid and nucleic acid, much of it derived from dislodged epithelial cells and bacteria [199]. These constituents have been shown to enhance the viscous properties of mucins in vitro [200, 201], and such interactions may be significant towards determining mucus gel properties in vivo. 

Chitosan has mucoadhesive properties [89] however, the mucoadhesive properties of chitosan can be significantly improved by the immobilization of thiol groups on the polymer. The mucoadhesion is enhanced by the formation of disulfide bonds with cysteine-rich subdomains of mucus glycoproteins, and these bonds are... 

The hydrophilic properties of mucins, the large glycoproteins of mucus, are due to multiple O-linked glycosyl chains on these proteins. 

Bhat PG, Flanagan DR, Donovan MD. Drug diffusion through cystic fibrotic mucus steady-state permeation, rheologic properties, and glycoprotein morphology. J Pharm Sci 1996, 85, 624-630. 

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