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Related Concept Videos

Adherens Junctions01:24

Adherens Junctions

Strong contact points between adjacent cells anchor them to each other, forming tissues. Such anchoring junctions are of two types –  adherens junctions and desmosomes. Adherens junctions are abundant in tissues such as  epithelium and endothelium, forming a continuous zone of adhesion called the adhesion belt. In other tissues, such as  heart muscle, they appear as clusters, linking the cells to produce coordinated heart muscle contraction.
Adherens Junctions are Dynamic
The endothelial cells...
Anchoring Junctions01:03

Anchoring Junctions

Anchoring junctions are multiprotein complexes that help cells connect to other cells and the extracellular matrix. Anchoring junctions are present on the lateral and basal surfaces of cells, providing strong and flexible connections. Focal adhesions are often formed due to cell interactions with the ECM substrata, which initiate signal transduction via kinase cascades and other mechanisms. Together, they provide stability and tissue integrity. There are three types of anchoring junctions:...
Overview of Cell-Matrix Interactions01:24

Overview of Cell-Matrix Interactions

The extracellular matrix or ECM holds cells together to form a tissue and allows the cells within the tissue to communicate. ECM comprises proteins such as fibronectin, collagen, laminin, etc. The most abundant protein in this space is collagen. Collagen fibers are interwoven with carbohydrate-containing protein molecules called proteoglycans. ECM allows cell migration and provides a structural scaffold at cell adhesion that anchors the cell when the extracellular matrix proteins interact with...
Cell Adhesion Molecules - Types and Functions01:20

Cell Adhesion Molecules - Types and Functions

Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are pivotal to multicellularity and the coordinated functioning of tissues and organ systems. They enable physical interactions between cells and provide mechanical strength to tissues. They also function as receptors for signal transmission across the plasma membrane. The CAMs are broadly classified into four families - integrins, cadherins, selectins, and immunoglobulin-like CAMs (IgCAMs).
CAM Families
The Integrin family of proteins is primarily  involved in a...
Cell Adhesion Molecules - Types and Functions01:20

Cell Adhesion Molecules - Types and Functions

Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are pivotal to multicellularity and the coordinated functioning of tissues and organ systems. They enable physical interactions between cells and provide mechanical strength to tissues. They also function as receptors for signal transmission across the plasma membrane. The CAMs are broadly classified into four families - integrins, cadherins, selectins, and immunoglobulin-like CAMs (IgCAMs).
CAM Families
The Integrin family of proteins is primarily  involved in a...
Integrins01:10

Integrins

Animal and protozoan cells do not have cell walls to help maintain shape and provide structural stability. Instead, these eukaryotic cells secrete a sticky mass of carbohydrates and proteins into the spaces between adjacent cells. This network of proteins and molecules is called an extracellular matrix or ECM.
Some ECM proteins assemble into a basement membrane to which the remaining components adhere. Proteoglycans typically form the bulk of the ECM while fibrous proteins, like collagen,...

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Related Experiment Video

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Mucin Agarose Gel Electrophoresis: Western Blotting for High-molecular-weight Glycoproteins
09:24

Mucin Agarose Gel Electrophoresis: Western Blotting for High-molecular-weight Glycoproteins

Published on: June 14, 2016

Mucin 21/epiglycanin modulates cell adhesion.

Yuri Yi1, Mika Kamata-Sakurai, Kaori Denda-Nagai

  • 1Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Molecular Immunology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.

The Journal of Biological Chemistry
|April 15, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Mouse Mucin 21 (Muc21) significantly reduces cell adhesion through its tandem repeat domain. This glycoprotein

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Three-dimensional Quantification of Intestinal Mucus Using Whole-mount Tissue Imaging
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Three-dimensional Quantification of Intestinal Mucus Using Whole-mount Tissue Imaging

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Mucin Agarose Gel Electrophoresis: Western Blotting for High-molecular-weight Glycoproteins
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Published on: June 14, 2016

Profiling of Permethylated Mucin O-glycans Using Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry
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Three-dimensional Quantification of Intestinal Mucus Using Whole-mount Tissue Imaging
05:10

Three-dimensional Quantification of Intestinal Mucus Using Whole-mount Tissue Imaging

Published on: September 12, 2025

Area of Science:

  • Glycobiology
  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Mucin 21 (Muc21), also known as epiglycanin, is a large, heavily glycosylated protein found on cell surfaces.
  • Its proposed structure includes numerous tandem repeats, a stem, transmembrane, and cytoplasmic domains.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of Muc21's tandem repeat domain in cell adhesion.
  • To characterize the expression and glycosylation of Muc21 in transfected cells.

Main Methods:

  • Constructing and transfecting a cDNA encoding Muc21 with 84 tandem repeats into HEK 293T cells.
  • Assessing cell adhesion, integrin subunit binding, and Muc21 expression and glycosylation using flow cytometry, Western blotting, and lectin blotting.

Main Results:

  • Muc21 expression resulted in nonadherent cells, with reduced adhesion correlating to the number of tandem repeats.
  • Muc21 transfectants showed decreased binding to each other and to extracellular matrix components.
  • Antibody binding to integrin subunits alpha5, alpha6, and beta1 was reduced in a tandem repeat-dependent manner.
  • Muc21 was confirmed as a highly O-glycosylated cell surface glycoprotein, with sialic acid not being essential for the anti-adhesion effect.

Conclusions:

  • The tandem repeat domain of Muc21 is critical for its anti-adhesion properties.
  • Muc21 functions as a cell surface glycoprotein that modulates cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions, potentially via integrin pathways.