Molecular Modeling of the C-terminal End of Human Intestinal Mucin (MUC2)

Molecular Modeling of the C-terminal End of Human Intestinal Mucin (MUC2)

Student: Hong Long
Department: Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Rebecca Carrier

Abstract

Intestinal mucus, a secretion that lines the mucosa, is believed to be a major barrier to the absorption of many therapeutic compounds. However, there is no full understanding of the molecular interaction between drug molecules and the mucus membrane. The major intestinal secretory mucin gene, MUC2, has been identified and fully sequenced, yet its molecular structure has not been researched. This project is focused on building and improving molecular models of segments of MUC2 for studying drug transport through the mucin layer via homology modeling.