Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for ileal human goblet cell mucin

A sandwich ELISA for measuring ileal human goblet cell mucin has been developed with a linear response range 0.2 to 1.5 ng mucin protein. It can be used to quantitate the mucin present in dilute and unpurified samples without interference from other glycoproteins and proteins. Reduction of the mucin decreased the reactivity by only 14% indicating that the assay reacts almost as well with mucin glycopeptides as with native mucin. The assay has the advantages over previously described immunoassays for mucin of giving a result in 6 h, detecting slightly lower concentrations of mucin, and is more sensitive, quantitative and specific than the traditional protein or periodic acid-Schiff assays used for glycoproteins.