1. Noun. (biochemistry) An epithelial sialomucin. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Medical Definition of Episialin
1. Heavily glycosylated membrane glycoprotein. Encoded by the MUC 1 gene, has a molecular weight of around 300 kD, more than half of which is O linked glycan. There is a 69 residue cytoplasmic domain and the extracellular domain may extend hundreds of nanometres beyond the plasma membrane, the increased expression in carcinoma cells may reduce the adhesion and mask antigenic properties of the cells. Similar functions are ascribed to ASGP, epiglycanin and leucosialin.
This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology
(11 Mar 2008)
