Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada; email:
Annu Rev Biochem. 2015;84:947-67. doi: 10.1146/annurev-biochem-060614-034048. Epub 2014 Dec 12.
Hagfishes thwart attacks by fish predators by producing liters of defensive slime. The slime is produced when slime gland exudate is released into the predator's mouth, where it deploys in a fraction of a second and clogs the gills. Slime exudate is composed mainly of secretory products from two cell types, gland mucous cells and gland thread cells, which produce the mucous and fibrous components of the slime, respectively. Here, we review what is known about the composition of the slime, morphology of the slime gland, and physiology of the cells that produce the slime. We also discuss several of the mechanisms involved in the deployment of both mucous and thread cells during the transition from thick glandular exudate to ultradilute material. We review biomechanical aspects of the slime, along with recent efforts to produce biomimetic slime thread analogs, and end with a discussion of how hagfish slime may have evolved.
八目鳗通过产生大量的防御性黏液来抵御鱼类捕食者的攻击。当黏液腺分泌物被释放到捕食者的口中时，黏液就会产生，它会在几分之一秒内展开并堵塞鳃。黏液分泌物主要由两种细胞类型的分泌产物组成，即腺粘细胞和腺丝细胞，它们分别产生黏液和纤维成分。在这里，我们回顾了有关黏液的组成、黏液腺的形态以及产生黏液的细胞生理学的已知信息。我们还讨论了在从浓稠的腺分泌物转变为超稀物质的过程中，黏液细胞和腺丝细胞的几种激活机制。我们回顾了黏液的生物力学方面，以及最近在生产仿生黏液丝类似物方面的努力，并以讨论八目鳗黏液的进化方式结束。
