The Role of Membrane‐Tethered Mucins in Axial Epithelial Adhesion in Controlled Normal Stress Environments

Abstract The collective adhesive behavior of epithelial cell layers mediated by complex macromolecular fluid environments plays a vital role in many biological processes. Mucins, a family of highly glycosylated proteins, are known to lubricate cell‐on‐cell contacts in the shear direction. However, the role of mucins mediating axial epithelial adhesion in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the cell sheet has received less attention. This article subjects cell‐on‐cell layers of live ocular epithelia that express mucins on their apical surfaces to compression/decompression cycles and tensile loading using a customized instrument. In addition to providing compressive moduli of native cell‐on‐cell layers, it is found that the mucin layer between the epithelia acts as a soft cushion between the epithelial cell layers. Decompression experiments reveal mucin layers act as soft, nonlinear springs in the axial direction. The cell‐on‐cell layers withstand decompression before fracturing by a cohesive failure within the mucin layer. When mucin deficiency is induced via a protease treatment, it is found that the axial adhesion between the cell layers is increased. The findings which correlate changes in biological factors with changes in mechanical properties might be of interest to challenges in ophthalmology, vision care, and mucus research.