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Goblet cell
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The goblet cell is named for its shape: it looks like a cup, a chalice. And that is no accident: the shape comes from what it carries, because it is packed with granules of mucin, the molecule mucus is made from.
Its job is exactly that: making mucus and releasing it. The mucins it releases are the major macromolecular components of mucus.
It does not live in only one place. It is in the epithelium of the intestine, the sheet of cells that lines it, and also in the large airways, where it is the main cell that secretes at the surface.
It also turns over quickly. It arises from stem cells at the bottom of the crypt, a fold of the intestine shaped like a well, and renews every three to seven days. It is a cup that empties onto the surface and is restocked from below.
In brief
The goblet cell owes its name to its cup shape, which comes from the mucin granules that fill it.
Its main job is to make and secrete mucus, and the mucins it releases are the major macromolecular components of mucus.
It lives in the intestinal epithelium and is the main secretory cell on the surface of the large airways.
It arises from stem cells at the bottom of the crypt and renews every three to seven days.
A cup that empties onto the surface and is restocked from below.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingHistology, Goblet Cells, StatPearlsPublished
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