ABSTRACT
Mucus protects the epithelial cells of the digestive and respiratory tracts from pathogens and other hazards. Progress in determining the molecular mechanisms of mucus barrier function has been limited by the lack of high-resolution structural information on mucins, the giant, secreted, gel-forming glycoproteins that are the major constituents of mucus. Here, we report how mucin structures we determined enabled the discovery of an unanticipated protective role of mucus: managing the toxic transition metal copper. Using two juxtaposed copper binding sites, one for Cu2+ and the other for Cu1+, the intestinal mucin, MUC2, prevents copper toxicity by blocking futile redox cycling and the squandering of dietary antioxidants, while nevertheless permitting uptake of this important trace metal into cells. These findings emphasize the value of molecular structure in advancing mucosal biology, while introducing mucins, produced in massive quantities to guard extensive mucosal surfaces, as extracellular copper chaperones.
Subject(s)
Copper , Mucins , Mucins/metabolism , Mucin-2 , Copper/analysis , Copper/metabolism , Intestines , Mucus/metabolism , Intestinal Mucosa/metabolismABSTRACT
After exposure to micron-sized TiO2 particles, anatase and/or rutile, Rhodococcus ruber GIN-1 accumulates an increased concentration (2.2 ± 0.2 mg kg-1) of mobilized Ti into its biomass with concomitant decreases in cellular biometals Fe, Zn, and possibly Mn, while levels of Cu and Al are unaffected.
