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Goblet Cells, Mucin Tear Secretion by

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Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology

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Synonyms

Mucus-secreting cells

Definition

Cells recognized as a source of mucus for the tear-film complex.

Structure

Conjunctival goblet cells appear in histological sections as oval-shaped cells containing rich amounts of intracytoplasmic mucus (Doughty 2012). Cytoplasmic staining is characteristically periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) positive, reflecting the high density of glycosylated glycoproteins within these cells (Doughty 2012). Goblet cell location varies depending on their degree of maturation with more mature cells residing near the apical surface of the conjunctival epithelium; the distribution of goblet cells is related to differences in exposure, with cell numbers being higher in the superior and inferior bulbar conjunctiva compared to the interpalpebral conjunctiva (Doughty 2012).

Function

Goblet cells comprise the main source of mucus secreted into the tear-film complex (Inatomi et al. 1996; Doughty 2012; Gipson 2004). Mucus secretion is influenced by environmental and...

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References

  • Doughty MJ (2012) Goblet cells of the normal human bulbar conjunctiva and their assessment by impression cytology sampling. Ocul Surf 10:149–169

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  • Gipson IK (2004) Distribution of mucins at the ocular surface. Exp Eye Res 78:379–388

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  • Inatomi T et al (1996) Expression of secretory mucin genes by human conjunctival epithelia. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 37:1684–1692

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  • Plugfelder SC (2011) Tear dysfunction and the cornea: LXVII Edward Jackson memorial lecture. Am J Ophthalmol 152:900–909

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  • Sangwan VS, Tseng SCG (2001) New perspectives in ocular surface disorders. An integrated approach for diagnosis and management. Indian J Ophthalmol 49:153–168

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Kresge Eye Institute, Wayne State University, 4717 St. Antoine, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA

    Daniel Montenegro & Nadeem Fatteh

Authors
  1. Daniel Montenegro
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  2. Nadeem Fatteh
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel Montenegro .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Medical University of Wien Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Wien, Austria

    Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main Department of Ophthalmology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Thomas Kohnen

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Montenegro, D., Fatteh, N. (2014). Goblet Cells, Mucin Tear Secretion by. In: Schmidt-Erfurth, U., Kohnen, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_821-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_821-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35951-4

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