Function
Mucoproteins are the proteins that are the building blocks ofProtein Structure
Mucoproteins are composed of o-linked carbohydrates as well as highly glycosylated proteins, which are held together by disulfide bonds. The viscosity of the mucus depends on the strength of the disulfide bonds. When these disulfide bonds are broken, the viscosity of the mucus secretions is reduced.Clinical Significance
Mucolytic medications will break through the disulfide bonds and lower the viscosity of the mucus, thus allowing the hypersecreted mucus to be more manageable. A hypersectretion of mucus is often a symptom of pulmonary diseases or respiratory infections. There are two subgroups in mycolytic medications and each one works differently to control the hypersecreted mucus. * Classic mucolytic medications these medications change the disulfide bond by reducing it to a thiol bond, thus thoroughly breaking down the mucoproteins and making the mucus more manageable. * Peptide mucolytic medications these medications depolymerize DNA polymer and F-actin links that are present when the mucus hypersecretes. This preserves the mucins that are helpful to the epithelial tissue of the lungs.External links
*Bibliography
* Houlden, Ashley; Goldrick, Maire C.; Brough, David; Vízi, Elek Sylvester; Lénárt, Nikolett; Martinecz, Bernadett;Roberts, Ian S.D.;Dénes, Ádám(2016)."Brain injury induces specific changes in the caecal microbiota of mice via altered autonomic activity and mucoprotein production". ''Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.'' * Aksoy, Murat; Aydin Faruk; Guven, Suleyman; Kart, Cavit; Tosun, Ilknur (2012). "The effect of ethinyl estradiol and drospirenone-containing oral contraceptives upon mucoprotein content of cervical mucus." ''ScienceDirect''. * Aronson, J. K., ed. (2016-01-01). "Acetylcysteine", Meyer's Side Effects on Drugs (Sixteenth Edition), Oxford: Elsevier, pp 23-25. * Gupta, Rishab; Wadhwa, Roopma (2022). "Mucolytic Medications." ''National Library of Medicine.'' * Cone, Richard A (2009). "Barrier properties of mucus." ''ScienceDirect''. * Kumar, Puneet; Shukla, Priyesh; Kumari, Soni; Dixit, Ruhi; Narayan, Gopeshwar; Dixit, V. K., & Khanna, A. K. (2021). Expression of Mucoproteins in Gallbladder Cancer. ''Indian Journal of Surgery''References