Salivary Weight Research Articles

Expression of ICOS in the salivary glands of patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome and its molecular mechanism.

The present study aimed to explore latent markers for identifying primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS), as well as their expression and molecular mechanism. Hub inducible T cell co-stimulator genes were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus. A total of 95 patients with pSS and 68 healthy individuals from Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University (Nantong, China) were included in the study. The expression of inducible T cell co-stimulator (ICOS) in whole blood and saliva was evaluated using ELISA. Western blotting was performed to investigate aquaporin 5 (AQP5) protein expression, as well as the inflammatory effects of ICOS in patients with pSS compared with healthy individuals. Differentially expressed mRNAs were analyzed in whole blood (GSE84844) and salivary gland (GSE40611) of patients with pSS. In total, 15 hub genes were identified, among which ICOS was indicated to serve a role in the most pivotal immunity pathways. pSS was markedly associated with inflammatory pathways. Results from the present study found that ICOS was upregulated in the salivary gland, whole blood and saliva of patients with pSS. Salivary weight was negatively correlated with the levels of ICOS in the saliva of patients with pSS. The expression of AQP5 was markedly lower in patients with pSS. The expression of AQP5 was negatively associated with ICOS. Compared with that of healthy individuals, the expression of ICOS and inflammatory factors was higher and the expression of AQP5 was lower in pSS patients as assessed by western blotting. These data demonstrated that ICOS may affect AQP5 expression by promoting inflammation in the salivary glands of patients with pSS.

Correlation Between Body Movements and Salivary Secretion During Sedation.

During dental sedation, control of the cough reflex is crucial for a safe and smooth procedure. Accumulated saliva is one of the predisposing factors for coughing. Body movements during dental sedation appear to enhance salivation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the difference in salivary secretion between the with-movements state and the without-movements state during sedation. Salivary weight for 1 min was measured 3 times in 27 patients with intellectual disability during dental treatment under deep sedation with midazolam and propofol. The observed variables were body movements, bispectral index (BIS), and predicted propofol effect-site concentration. A total of 81 measurements were classified into the with-movements state (n = 39; ie, measurements during which body movements were observed) or the without-movements state (n = 42; ie, measurements during which no body movements were observed). The median salivary weight was significantly smaller in the without-movements state compared with the with-movements state (0.03 vs 0.11 g, P < .0001). The BIS was significantly lower in the without-movements state. There was no significant difference in the predicted propofol effect-site concentration between the 2 states. Significant correlation was observed between salivary weight and BIS in the with-movements state (r = 0.44, P = .004). The findings indicate that salivary secretion decreased according to deep sedation. Furthermore, immobility also reduced salivary secretion. We concluded that one reason that immobility is beneficial is because of the resulting decreased salivary secretion during dental treatment under deep sedation.