Mucus glycoproteins in bovine trachea: identification of the major mucin populations in respiratory secretions and investigation of their tissue origins.

Bovine respiratory secretions were separated into gel and sol phases to allow the identification of the gel-forming mucins. Mucins were subsequently isolated from the surface epithelium and submucosal tissue to investigate the tissue origins of the species in the secretions. Density-gradient centrifugation revealed 'high-density' and 'low-density' mucins in the gel phase of the secretions. The 'high-density' mucins were large, composed of subunits joined by disulphide bonds and contained two highly glycosylated domains of apparently different lengths, whereas the 'low-density' mucins were smaller and monomeric. The sol also contained both 'high-density' and 'low-density' species. A 'high-density' mucin similar to that in the gel was isolated from the surface epithelium, suggesting that the goblet cells produce large, gel-forming mucins. A second 'high-density' species was released from the submucosal tissue after reduction/alkylation, indicating that large mucins from the submucosal glands may also be a component of the mucus gel. In addition, two small, 'low-density' mucins were obtained from the submucosal tissue. One species was associated with the gel phase but was also present in the sol, whereas the other was present only in the sol. Bovine respiratory-tract secretions thus comprise a complex mixture of large gel-forming mucins originating from the goblet cells and submucosal glands, and smaller 'soluble' species from the submucosal glands which may interact with the gel.