Gut I. The study of expression of mucin genes in human conjunctiva

The dissertation is devote tom studing of the expression of nine mucin genes in human conjunctiva. The technique of in situ hybridization was used to demonstrate that only three mucin genes (transmembrane MUC1 and secretory MUC4 and MUC5AC) are expressed in conjunctival epithelium. The combination of in situ hybridisation, histochemistry and light microscopy allowed us to study the expression of these genes on cellular level. At the same time, bacterial expression system was established for the production of the N-terminal domain of MUC4, which contains 3 tandem repeats. Recombinant protein could be purified in large quantities and nearly to homogeneity with the use of affinity purification on Talon Sepharose. The obtained data have create the base to study the changes in mucin gene expression under pathological conditions and to initiate experiments on biochemical characterisation of secretory mucin MUC4.