goblet cell

Examples of goblet cell in the following topics:

• Histology of the Large Intestine

  • While both the small intestine and the large intestine have goblet cells (secrete mucin to form mucus in water), they are abundant in the large intestine.
  • The crypts and intestinal villi are covered by epithelium which contains two types of cells, goblet cells (secreting mucus) and enterocytes (secreting water and electrolytes).
  • This is in contrast to the stomach, where chief cells secrete pepsinogen.
  • During each mitosis, one of the two daughter cells remains in the crypt as a stem cell, while the other differentiates and migrates up the side of the crypt and eventually into the villus.
  • Goblet cells are among the cells produced in this fashion.

• Epithelial Tissues

  • The types of epithelia are classified by the shapes of cells present and the number of layers of cells.
  • The cell outline is slightly irregular; cells fit together to form a covering or lining.
  • Goblet cells are interspersed in some tissues (such as the lining of the trachea).
  • The goblet cells contain mucous that traps irritants, which, in the case of the trachea, keep these irritants from getting into the lungs.
  • Goblet cells secret mucous into the digestive tract lumen.

• Transcytosis

  • Substances are transported through the endothelial cells themselves within vesicles and this mechanims is mainly used by large molecules which are typically lipid-insoluble preventing the use of other transport mechanisms.
  • Briefly the substance to be transported is endocytosed by the endothelial cell into a lipid vesicle which moves through the cell and is then exocytosed to the other side.
  • Due to the function of transcytosis as a process that transports macromolecules across cells, it can be a convenient mechanism by which pathogens can invade a tissue.
  • Listeria monocytogenes has been shown to enter the intestinal lumen via transcytosis across goblet cells.

• Epithelial Membranes

  • The submucosal glands are a companion to unicellular goblet cells, which also produce mucus, and are found lining the same tubes.

• Mucosa

  • The mucosa is the innermost layer of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, composed of simple epithelium cells.
  • It is composed of epithelium cells and a thin connective tissue.
  • The mucosa contains specialized goblet cells that secrete sticky mucus throughout the GI tract.

• Biofilms and Infections

  • A biofilm is an aggregate of microorganisms in which cells adhere to each other on a surface.
  • These adherent cells are frequently embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS).
  • The patients with biofilms were shown to have been denuded of cilia and goblet cells, unlike the controls without biofilms who had normal cilia and goblet cell morphology.
  • In addition, it has been demonstrated that the gonococcus can form biofilms on glass surfaces and over human cells.
  • There is evidence for the formation of gonococcal biofilms on human cervical epithelial cells during natural disease.

• Microscopic Anatomy of the Stomach

  • Different types of cells are at different locations down the pits.
  • The cells at the base of these pits are chief cells, responsible for production of pepsinogen, an inactive precursor of pepsin, which degrades proteins.
  • The secretion of pepsinogen prevents self-digestion of the stomach cells.
  • Further up the pits, parietal cells produce gastric acid and a vital substance, intrinsic factor.
  • Near the top of the pits, closest to the contents of the stomach, there are mucous-producing cells called goblet cells that help protect the stomach from self-digestion.

• Trachea

  • It is lined with pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium cells with goblet cells that produce mucus.
  • This mucus and cilia of the trachea form the mucociliary escalator, which lines the cells of the trachea with mucus to trap inhaled foreign particles.

• Anatomy of the Large Intestine

  • While both the small intestine and the large intestine have goblet cells, they are more abundant in the large intestine.

• Digestive Properties of the Stomach

  • The hormone gastrin causes an increase in the secretion of HCl from the parietal cells, and pepsinogen from chief cells in the stomach.
  • Gastrin is released by G-cells in the stomach, via the base cells of the pyloric , cardiac , and fundic glands, in response to distension of the antrum, and digestive products (especially large quantities of incompletely-digested proteins).
  • Parietal cells secrete hydrochloric acid and intrinsic factor; chief cells secrete pepsinogen; goblet cells secrete mucus; argentaffin cells secrete serotonin and histamine; and G cells secrete the hormone gastrin.