Immunofluorescence detection of MUC5AC on bulbar conjunctival imprints was performed as described previously [34 (link)]. Briefly, primary antibody against MUC5AC and the secondary antibody Alexa Fluor 488 (1:300, A11034, Life Technologies) were diluted in 0.1% bovine serum albumin; after staining, the cells were mounted with VectaShield-DAPI (Vector Laboratories).
Immunofluorescent images were acquired with an Olympus BX51 microscope and CCD-1300 camera (VDS Vosskühler GmbH, Osnabrück, Germany). The images were analyzed with NIS Elements software (Laboratory Imaging). The percentage of positive cells was counted on six randomly captured photographs per well (two wells per condition) from at least four independent tissue donors.