Human Submandibular Salivary Gland Morphology Associated to Transcription and Growth Factors from Fetus to Aging

Abstract

Saliva carries out several functions in the digestive system like the protection of the oral cavity and the beginning of carbohydrate digestion. This liquid is mainly produced by the submandibular gland as it is responsible for 60% of total saliva flow. This gland is characterized as acinar tubule composed, and during the fetal period, it develops in five stages, which are molded through high proliferative indices of the components. However, the aging process changes the morphology and function of this gland.Transcription factors such as Nanog and Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat‐3) regulate the process of proliferation, ckit and musashi‐1 induce cell proliferation while epidermal growth factor (EGF) is secreted by the submandibular gland and it has combined action to the Stat‐3. Considering the importance of these transcription factors and the role of EGF, the present study evaluated immunohistochemical expression of EGF, Nanog, Ckit, Musashi‐1 and Stat‐3 in submandibular glands of human fetuses between 12 and 18 gestational weeks, in adults (40 to 55 years old) and senile (over 85 years old). It was also evaluated quantitatively the morphological changes in components during development using Image J and statistical softwares. This study was approved by the Research Ethical Committee of UNIFESP, research number 618131.The present study showed significant expression of all the transcription factors in the acinar system as in the ductal system during the stages of development. Also showed differences in the number of components between the adult and senile glands. Considering these results, we reinforce that the morphological changes observed in the submandibular gland is in consonance with the levels of the studied markers and the proliferation pattern during aging.Support or Funding InformationThis study was financed in part by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior ‐ Brasil (CAPES) Finance code 001 and also by FAPESP process number 2015/03967‐5.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.