Assistant Professor Akio Tsuru and Professor Kenji Kohno, Laboratory of Molecular and Cell Genetics, Graduate School of Biological Sciences

The surface of gastrointestinal tracts is covered with slimy substance called mucus that protects the tracts from the environmental stimuli and bacterial infection. The main constituent of the mucus is a highly glycosylated protein called mucin.

For more information,
http://bsw3.naist.jp/eng/researchtopics/2013/20130207.html

Figure 1. The ER in IRE1β knockout goblet cells is distended with misfolded mucin accumulation.