Goblet Cells “What cell is this?” My cell that I learned about is called the goblet cell. Goblet cells are glandular simple columnar epithelial cells whose only function is to secrete mucin, which suspends in a solution of electrolytes and dissolves in water to form mucus. They use apocrine and merocrine methods for secretion. Goblet cells are found scattered with other cells in the epithelium of many organs, especially in the intestinal and respiratory tracts. In some areas, their numbers are rather small relative to other cell types, while in tissues such as the colon, they are much more abundant.
The name goblet cell comes from the characteristic shape of these cells in conventionally-fixed tissues: a narrow base and expanded apical portion that sometimes extends into the lumen. This morphology is known to be an artifact of fixation in which mucus-laden granules in the apical portion of the cell expand, causing the cell to balloon. If special precautions are taken during fixation, goblet cells are seen as cylindrical cells.
Regardless of fixation, goblet cells have a distinctly polarized morphology. Their nucleus is at the base of the cell, along with organelles such as mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi. The remainder of the cell is filled with membrane-bound secretory granules filled with mucus. Secretion of mucus from goblet cells is elicited primarily by irritating stimuli rather than in response to hormones. The lumen of the intestinal tract inevitably contains numerous irritants, and in the lung, such things as dust and smoke are potent inducers of goblet cell secretion.
Secretion of mucus is by exocytosis of secretory granules. Interestingly, goblet cells have two pathways for secretion. Constitutive or basal secretion: low level, unregulated and essentially continuous
