We know that the stem cell population that gives rise to goblet cells and the other cells of the ocular surface conjunctiva are one in the same and what we want to know is what the signal is that induces that goblet cell to differentiate in a pathway different than the other epithelium. If we can do that, we can learn that, we can perhaps restore goblet cells to those people who have permanent ocular surface drying. We are using mucin gene expression patterns to study differentiation of the epithelium. We do not, I do not personally harvest stem cells, but I use that ocular surface epithelium which we know from other studies derives from the same stem cell to look at what makes them diverge. Use the mucin gene expression patterns which are what we know is one of the first indications of a goblet cell formation is when it starts expressing the goblet cell specific mucin.
Research is very serendipitous.
Sometimes it happens in a rush and sometimes it takes forever. I have been fortunate to see things happen very quickly on occasion. Hopefully one of these days we will get a big rush and we will lock on to some particular effector molecule that induces differentiation. Oh there is, there really is. One of the interesting accidents, yes it was an accident, it happened in our research.