Mucins are heavily glycosylated proteins expressed by various epithelial cell types. They can be divided into two classes according to cellular localisation: membrane-bound mucins and secretory mucins. Mucin-15 (MUC15) is a cell membrane-associated mucin. The predicted protein product of human MUC15 contains an extracelluar domain, a small transmembrane domain, and a highly conserved cytoplasmic tail []. Mucin-15 is expressed in human placenta and may play a role in the regulation of trophoblast invasion [].
