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Expression Analysis of Genes Corresponding to Mucins and Their Glycans from Cervical Tissue Using RNA Sequencing

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Mucins

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2763))

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Abstract

In the female reproductive tract, mucin proteins are the main component of mucus secreted by cervical goblet cells and play an essential role in many biological functions. They act as a medium for lubrication and mainting a cervical mucosal barrier against ascending pathogens from the vagina while also allowing sperm migration. The expression of mucin genes as well as the levels of O-glycosylation changes across the oestrous cycle. Detection and characterization of mucins and their glycans is important to understand the interface between the external and the internal environment, as the cervical epithelium represents the first line of defense against infections of the upper reproductive tract. Advances in the field of molecular biology have made possible to study differences in mucin and glycan gene expression which can help to understand impeded sperm transport as well as variation in the susceptibility to infection. This chapter discusses procedures relevant for both animals and humans on how to recover cervical tissue and perform a gene expression analysis of genes corresponding to mucins and their glycans using RNA sequencing.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by ERANet (grant no. 16/RD/SusAn/ERA-NET). S. Fair is funded by Science Foundation Ireland (project 16/IA/4474). L. Abril-Parreño is funded by MICINN (Spain) through the program Juan de la Cierva-Formación (FJC-2021-047738-J37703).

Disclaimer

The above protocol is a recommendation based on the author’s experience of conducting this work in sheep cervical tissue. The authors have no vested interests to declare and researchers are advised to consider alternative platforms and products which can perform similar function.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Biomaterials Research Cluster, Bernal Institute, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    Sean Fair

  2. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research (Campus Mare Nostrum), University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain

    Laura Abril-Parreño

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  1. Sean Fair
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  2. Laura Abril-Parreño
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Correspondence to Laura Abril-Parreño .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cellular and Molecular Biotechnology Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Akihiko Kameyama

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© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

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Fair, S., Abril-Parreño, L. (2024). Expression Analysis of Genes Corresponding to Mucins and Their Glycans from Cervical Tissue Using RNA Sequencing. In: Kameyama, A. (eds) Mucins. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2763. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3670-1_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3670-1_23

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-3669-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-3670-1

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