Mucins and TFF peptides of the tear film and lacrimal apparatus.

The three-dimensional organization of the tear film, which is produced and drained by the different structures of the ocular adnexa, is essential for maintainance and protection of the ocular surface. This is facilitated by a class of large, highly glycosylated, hydrophilic glycoproteins, the mucins, which are usually expressed in association with a class of peptides having a well-defined, structurally conserved trefoil domain, the mammalian trefoil factor family (TFF) peptides. In this review, the latest information regarding mucin and TFF peptide function and regulation in the human lacrimal system, the tear film and the ocular surface is summarized with regard to mucous epithelia integrity, rheological and antimicrobial properties of the tear film and tear outflow, age-related changes and certain disease states such as dry eye, dacryostenosis and dacryolith formation.