Membrane mucins, such as MUC17, function in epithelial cells to provide cytoprotection, maintain luminal structure, provide signal transduction, and confer antiadhesive properties upon cancer cells that lose their apical/basal polarization.

By microarray analysis, Moehle et al. (2006) found coordinated downregulation of mucins, including MUC17, in colon of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis, compared with controls. They identified an NF-kappa-B-binding site in the MUC17 promoter and showed that activation of the NF-kappa-B signaling pathway by inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha (TNF) and TGF-beta (TGFB1) upregulated MUC17 mRNA expression about 2-fold and 3-fold, respectively.