Stimulation of acinar cell proliferation by isoproterenol in the postnatal rat submandibular gland

Abstract

AbstractDuring the postnatal development of the submandibular gland, the stimulation of DNA synthesis and mitosis by a single injection of isoproterenol, measured as the percentage of labeled cells in radioautographs, was dependent on the age of the rat. The drug had no effect on the proliferative activity in two day old rats, but stimulated DNA synthesis in older (7–42 day old) animals. In general, the degree of stimulation was directly related to the proportion of acinar cells and inversely related to the proliferative activity in the gland of control rats. An analysis of various cell types revealed that the stimulation of DNA synthesis in the gland was essentially restricted to the acinar cells in rats older than 14 days of age. In seven day old rats, the acinar cells were not stimulated, but their precursors, the proacinar cells, the terminal tubule cells and the intercalated duct cells were stimulated to synthesize DNA by isoproterenol. This suggested that isoproterenol had an effect on the transformation of precursor cells to acinar cells.