The effect of salivary gland extracts on the histology of lymphoid organs and salivary glands in mice

Abstract

Ligation of the excretory duct and artery of the submandibular gland (SMG) of male Swiss mice led to atrophy of the gland within 7 days. The effects of a crude extract of the SMG and sublingual gland (SLG) on the histology of spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, SMG and SLG were studied. Four groups of mice were used. Three groups were injected intraperitoneally for 7 consecutive days with SLG extract (Group I), SMG extract (Group II), saline (Group III) and Group IV was not treated. On day 7, the animals were killed and the spleen, thymus, salivary glands with the regional lymph nodes were weighed and fixed. Histological studies and histometric measurements were made of the thymus, the spleen and of the acinar and tubular areas of the SMG. The volumes of the SMG and SLG were also estimated. In the SMG and SLG, infiltration of mononuclear cells occurred in Groups I and II. At the same time there was a reduction of the tubular part of the SMG and a decrease in the volume of the SMG and SLG, compared with Groups III and IV. An immune response was detected in the spleen and regional lymph nodes and the number of lymphoblasts had increased in the cortex of the thymus. Injections of SMG and SLG extracts induced both an antibody and a cell-mediated immune response.