Synthesis and Antibody Binding Study of MUC1 Mucin Peptides with Unnatural Backbones

Abstract

The MUC-1 mucin is a heavily glycosylated transmembrane protein found on the apical surface of epithelial cells with a short cytoplasmic end and a longer extracellular domain consisting of multiple 20-amino acid tandem repeats. The known roles of mucin protein include cell to cell interactions, protection of the cell, and lubrication of the cell’s surface. In tumor cells, the protein has alteration of its carbohydrate chains, thus exposing the core protein to the immune system, appearing as a foreign entity (1,2). This study is focused on synthesis of mucin peptides that have binding properties to the monoclonal antibody produced against the mucin from tumor cells.