Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33775913›Full record

ReviewThe ocular surface2021

Membrane-associated mucins of the human ocular surface in health and disease.

Rafael Martinez-Carrasco, Pablo Argüeso, M Elizabeth Fini

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in The ocular surface, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
35citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
6.7field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

35 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Inflammatory Response of Presbyopes Neophyte Contact Lens Wearers during 6 Months of Multifocal Lens Wear.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Observational
  8. Article
  9. Nanotechnology-Based Treatment for Ophthalmic Diseases.International journal of nanomedicine · 2026
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Ocular surface glycocalyx in health and disease.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Rafael Martinez-CarrascoDepartment of Ophthalmology, Tufts University School of Medicine at New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, 02111, USA. Electronic address: rmartinezcarras@tuftsmedicalcenter.org.
Pablo ArgüesoDepartment of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School at Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass, Eye and Ear, Boston, MA, 02114, USA. Electronic address: pablo_argueso@meei.harvard.edu.
M Elizabeth FiniDepartment of Ophthalmology, Tufts University School of Medicine at New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center: Program in Pharmacology & Drug Development, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston, MA, O2111, USA. Electronic address: mefini@tuftsmedicalcenter.org.
Tufts University · USMassachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary · US

Funding

Clusterin at the Ocular Surface Administrative Supplement IIR01EY026479 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI FINI, M ELIZABETH · 2016 to 2020
$2.9M
NEI NIH HHS R01 EY026479
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mucins are a family of high molecular weight, heavily-glycosylated proteins produced by wet epithelial tissues, including the ocular surface epithelia. Densely-packed O-linked glycan chains added post-translationally confer the biophysical properties of hydration, lubrication, anti-adhesion and repulsion. Membrane-associated mucins (MAMs) are the distinguishing components of the mucosal glycocalyx. At the ocular surface, MAMs maintain wetness, lubricate the blink, stabilize the tear film, and create a physical barrier to the outside world. In addition, it is increasingly appreciated that MAMs function as cell surface receptors that transduce information from the outside to the inside of the cell. Recently, our team published a comprehensive review/perspectives article for molecular scientists on ocular surface MAMs, including previously unpublished data and analyses on two new genes MUC21 and MUC22, as well as new MAM functions and biological roles, comparing human and mouse (PMID: 31493487). The current article is a refocus for the audience of The Ocular Surface. First, we update the gene and protein information in a more concise form, and include a new section on glycosylation. Next, we discuss biological roles, with some new sections and further updating from our previous review. Finally, we provide a new chapter on MAM involvement in ocular surface disease. We end this with discussion of an emerging mechanism responsible for damage to the epithelia and their mucosal glycocalyces: the unfolded protein response (UPR). The UPR offers a novel target for therapeutic intervention.

Indexed as

Eye DiseasesMucinsAnimalsEyeHumansMiceTearsMucinsBarrier functionGlycocalyxMembrane-associated mucinMucosal epitheliaOcular surfaceO-linked glycosylationOxidative stressSignal transductionUnfolded protein response

Identifiers

PMID33775913
PMCPMC8328898
OpenAlexW3145602090

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.