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.