This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Jumblatt, M. M.
Right arrow Articles by Demuth, D. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Jumblatt, M. M.
Right arrow Articles by Demuth, D. R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, July 2006, p. 4058-4063, Vol. 74, No. 7
0019-9567/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.01951-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Glycoprotein 340 in Normal Human Ocular Surface Tissues and Tear Film

Marcia M. Jumblatt,1,2* Yoannis Imbert,2 William W. Young Jr.,2,3,4 Gary N. Foulks,1 Pamela S. Steele,1 and Donald R. Demuth5,6

Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science,1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,2 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology,3 Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine,5 Department of Molecular, Cellular and Craniofacial Biology,4 Department of Periodontology and Endodontology, School of Dentistry, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky6

Received 30 November 2005/ Returned for modification 19 January 2006/ Accepted 14 April 2006

The tear film is a complex mixture of secreted fluid, ions, proteins, glycoproteins, and lipids that lubricates and protects the ocular surface. Recently, several antimicrobial peptides have been described in the tear fluid. In this study, we describe the presence of the large secreted glycoprotein gp340 in the tear film. Western blot analysis showed that gp340 is abundant in secreted tears and in the lacrimal glands. Lesser amounts of gp340 were detected in the cornea and conjunctiva. Consistent with Western blot data, reverse transcription-PCR and real-time quantitative PCR showed that gp340 transcripts were abundant in lacrimal gland tissue and were also present in the cornea and conjunctiva. Immunohistochemistry localized gp340 to the acinar cells of the lacrimal gland and the deeper layers of the conjunctival epithelium. gp340 was not detected in conjunctival goblet cells. In the cornea, gp340 was present only in a peripheral band of basal epithelial cells, suggesting that gp340 may play a role in the cycle of corneal epithelial renewal. To determine if tear film gp340 may function as a bacterial agglutinin as it does in saliva, tears were incubated with streptococcal cells and the formation of bacterial aggregates was monitored. Addition of tears to late-exponential-phase Streptococcus mutans cells resulted in time- and dose-dependent aggregation of the bacteria. Furthermore, Western blot analysis confirmed the presence of cell-associated gp340 in isolated bacterial aggregates. The ocular pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, but not Pseudomonas aeruginosa, also aggregated when incubated with tears. These results suggest that gp340 is a normal component of the tear film and that the glycoprotein may function as a bacterial agglutinin.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40292. Phone: (502) 852-8669. Fax: (502) 852-0691. E-mail: mmjumb01{at}gwise.louisville.edu.

Editor: J. F. Urban, Jr.

Infection and Immunity, July 2006, p. 4058-4063, Vol. 74, No. 7
0019-9567/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.01951-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Kim, T. H., Lee, S. H., Lee, H. M., Jung, H. H., Lee, S. H., Cho, W. S., Cinn, Y. G., Choe, H., Kim, M. P., Yoo, I. O., Hwang, H. Y. (2007). Increased Expression of Glycoprotein 340 in the Ethmoid Sinus Mucosa of Patients With Chronic Sinusitis. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 133: 1111-1114 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»