Bachar-Wikstrom Etty, Thomsson Kristina A, Sihlbom Carina, Abbo Lisa, Tartor Haitham, Lindén Sara K, Wikstrom Jakob D
Dermatology and Venereology Division, Department of Medicine (Solna), Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden.
Whitman Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Sep 20;24(18):14331. doi: 10.3390/ijms241814331.
The mucus layer covering the skin of fish has several roles, including protection against pathogens and mechanical damage. While the mucus layers of various bony fish species have been investigated, the composition and glycan profiles of shark skin mucus remain relatively unexplored. In this pilot study, we aimed to explore the structure and composition of shark skin mucus through histological analysis and glycan profiling. Histological examination of skin samples from Atlantic spiny dogfish () sharks and chain catsharks () revealed distinct mucin-producing cells and a mucus layer, indicating the presence of a functional mucus layer similar to bony fish mucus albeit thinner. Glycan profiling using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry unveiled a diverse repertoire of mostly -glycans in the mucus of the two sharks as well as little skate (). Elasmobranch glycans differ significantly from bony fish, especially in being more sulfated, and some bear resemblance to human glycans, such as gastric mucin -glycans and H blood group-type glycans. This study contributes to the concept of shark skin having unique properties and provides a foundation for further research into the functional roles and potential biomedical implications of shark skin mucus glycans.
覆盖鱼类皮肤的黏液层具有多种作用，包括抵御病原体和机械损伤。虽然已经对各种硬骨鱼类的黏液层进行了研究，但鲨鱼皮肤黏液的组成和聚糖谱仍相对未被探索。在这项初步研究中，我们旨在通过组织学分析和聚糖谱分析来探索鲨鱼皮肤黏液的结构和组成。对大西洋刺鲨（）和豹纹鲨（）的皮肤样本进行组织学检查，发现了不同的黏蛋白产生细胞和黏液层，这表明存在与硬骨鱼类黏液类似的功能性黏液层，尽管更薄。使用液相色谱 - 电喷雾电离串联质谱法进行聚糖谱分析，揭示了这两种鲨鱼以及小斑猫鲨（）黏液中多种主要为 - 聚糖的情况。软骨鱼类聚糖与硬骨鱼类有显著差异，特别是硫酸化程度更高，并且一些与人类聚糖相似，如胃黏蛋白 - 聚糖和H血型聚糖。这项研究有助于形成鲨鱼皮肤具有独特特性的概念，并为进一步研究鲨鱼皮肤黏液聚糖的功能作用和潜在生物医学意义奠定了基础。
