Abstract
Salivary glands are essential structures in the oral cavity. A variety of diseases, such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, infections and physical traumas, can alter the functionality of these glands, greatly impacting the quality of life of patients. To date, no definitive therapeutic approach can compensate the impairment of salivary glands, and treatment are purely symptomatic. Understanding the cellular and molecular control of salivary glands function is, therefore, highly relevant for therapeutic purposes. In this review, we provide a starting platform for future studies in basic biology and clinical research, reporting classical ideas on salivary gland physiology and recently developed technology to guide regeneration, reconstruction and substitution of the functional organs.
Highlights
Structures secreting fluid to facilitate feeding emerge progressively throughout evolution and can be found in very simple organisms (e.g., Caenorabditis elegans) and more complex species (e.g., Drosophila melanogaster, placental mammals)
Dual innervation can be found in myoepithelial cells, acinar end-pieces and local blood vessels, all of which plays a functional role in salivary gland secretion [34]
Secretion itself is a combination of three events: (i) nervous cholinergic stimulation initiates fluid filtration from blood plasma to the acinar lumen, (ii) exocytosis of cytoplasmic granuli-containing proteins into the acinar lumen, and (iii) mechanical contraction of the secretory end-pieces mediated by specialized myoepithelial cells
Summary
Structures secreting fluid to facilitate feeding emerge progressively throughout evolution and can be found in very simple organisms (e.g., Caenorabditis elegans) and more complex species (e.g., Drosophila melanogaster, placental mammals). The submandibular gland (SMG) is composed by a mixed population of acini with a mucous and serous function [1,4,6] These three major salivary glands account for more than 90% of salivary secretion. A relevant sexual dimorphism appears in mice: SMG glands differ significantly between male and female mice, in particular the granular convoluted tubules (GCT), which are larger and more numerous in the male organs. Murine submandibular glands synthetize EGF and NGF in the GCTs following testosterone activity, while their production in humans occurs in the striated ducts. These differences reveal an interesting species-specific evolutionary tract in oral morphology and ductal specification [9]
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