Using Unfixed, Frozen Tissues to Study Natural Mucin Distribution

e3928, doi:10.3791/3928 (2012). Mucins are complex and heavily glycosylated O-linked glycoproteins, which contain more than 70 % carbohydrate by weight1-3. Secreted mucins, produced by goblet cells and the gastric mucosa, provide the scaffold for a micrometers-thick mucus layer that lines the epithelia of the gut and respiratory tract3,4. In addition to mucins, mucus layers also contain antimicrobial peptides, cytokines, and immunoglobulins5-9. The mucus layer is an important part of host innate immunity, and forms the first line of defense against invading microorganisms8,10-12. As such, the mucus is subject to numerous interactions with microbes, both pathogens and symbionts, and secreted mucins form an important interface for these interactions. The study of such biological interactions usually involves histological methods for tissue collection and staining. The two most commonly used histological methods for tissue collection and preservation in the clinic and in research laboratories are: formalin fixation followed by paraffin embedding, and tissue freezing, followed by embedding in cryo-protectant media. Paraffin-embedded tissue samples produce sections with optimal qualities for histological visualization including clarity and well-defined morphology. However, during the paraffin embedding process a number of epitopes become altered and in order to study these epitopes