Background: A major characteristic of asthmatic airways is an increase in mucin (the glycoprotein component of mucus) producing and secreting cells, which leads to increased mucin release that further clogs constricted airways and contributes markedly to airway obstruction and, in the most severe cases, to status asthmaticus. Asthmatic airways show both a hyperplasia and metaplasia of goblet cells, mucin-producing cells in the epithelium; hyperplasia refers to enhanced numbers of goblet cells in larger airways, while metaplasia refers to the appearance of these cells in smaller airways where they normally are not seen. With the number of mucin-producing and secreting cells increased, there is a coincident hypersecretion of mucin which characterizes asthma. On a cellular level, a major regulator of airway mucin secretion in both in vitro and in vivo studies has been shown to be MARCKS (myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate) protein, a ubiquitous substrate of protein kinase C (PKC).
General significance: In this review, properties of MARCKS and how the protein may regulate mucin secretion at a cellular level will be discussed. In addition, the roles of MARCKS in airway inflammation related to both influx of inflammatory cells into the lung and release of granules containing inflammatory mediators by these cells will be explored. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Biochemistry of Asthma.
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