Identification of <i>trans</i> Protein QTL for Secreted Airway Mucins in Mice and a Causal Role for <i>Bpifb1</i>.

ABSTRACT: Mucus hyper-secretion is a hallmark feature of asthma and other muco-obstructive airway diseases. The mucin proteins MUC5AC and MUC5B are the major glycoprotein components of mucus and have critical roles in airway defense. Despite the biomedical importance of these two proteins, the loci that regulate them in the context of natural genetic variation have not been studied. To identify genes that underlie variation in airway mucin levels, we performed genetic analyses in founder strains and incipient lines of the Collaborative Cross (CC) in a house dust mite mouse model of asthma. CC founder strains exhibited significant differences in MUC5AC and MUC5B, providing evidence of heritability. Analysis of gene and protein expression of Muc5ac and Muc5b in incipient CC lines (n</

SUBMITTER: Donoghue LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5629340 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature