mucin-6 (gastric mucin-6, MUC6)

Function

• modulation of protective mucus layer
• cytoprotection of epithelial surfaces
• role in epithelial organogenesis

Structure

• multimer, disulfide-linked, O-glycosylated
• contains 1 CTCK domain (C-terminal cystine knot-like domain)
  • contains 1 TIL domain (trypsin inhibitory-like domain)
  • contains 3 VWFD domains

Compartment

secreted protein

Expression

• expressed in the regenerative zone of gastric antrum, gastric body mucosa & gastric incisura mucosa
• expressed in the deeper mucous glands of gastric antrum
• highly expressedin duodenal Brunner's glands, gall bladder, seminal vesicle, pancreatic centroacinar cells & ducts, & periductal glands of common bile duct
• expressed in fetal development
  • observed in Brunner's glands & pancreatic ducts at 18-19 weeks &in gastric glands at 20 weeks of gestation
  • expressed transiently in the nephrogenic zone of the kidney in the early mid-trimester of development
  • expressed in epithelium of ureteric buds at 13 weeks
• induced by NFKB1
• repressed by mithramycin A

Pathology

• overexpressed in Helicobacter pylori infected gastric epithelium.

Polymorphism

• number of repeats is highly polymorphic & varies among different alleles
• repeats are very similar but not identical

More general terms

• mucin

Database

• OMIM: https://mirror.omim.org/entry/158374
• UniProt: http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/Q6W4X9.html