Mucus secretions from a conditionally reprogrammed primary endocervical cell culture.

OBJECTIVE

To determine if the secretions collected from a conditionally reprogrammed primary endocervical cell culture are suitable surrogates for mucus studies.

DESIGN

Experimental.

SETTING

University research center.

ANIMAL(S): Female rhesus macaque (n = 2).

INTERVENTION(S): None.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Quantitative proteomic analysis using tandem mass tag mass spectrometry liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

RESULT(S): We identified 3,047 proteins, common proteins present in both primary endocervical cell cultures and the mucus of rhesus macaques. We found a 71% overlap in the top 500 most prevalent proteins in the samples. Cell culture secretions contained many essential mucus proteins, including MUC5B, the primary mucin of the endocervix.

CONCLUSION(S): Similarities in secreted proteins suggest that conditionally reprogrammed primary endocervical cells could be used to study mucus secretion in vitro.