Salivary glands are formed by branching morphogenesis with epithelial progenitors forming a network of ducts and acini (secretory cells). During this process, epithelial progenitors specialise into distal (tips of the gland) and proximal (the stalk region) identities that produce the acini and higher order ducts, respectively. Little is known about the factors that regulate progenitor expansion...

Increased nitric oxide (NO) formation is mechanistically linked to pathophysiology of the extrahepatic complications of cirrhosis. NO is formed by either enzymatic or non-enzymatic pathways. Enzymatic production is catalyzed by NO synthase (NOS) while entero-salivary circulation of nitrate and nitrite is linked to non-enzymatic formation of NO under acidic pH in the stomach. There is no data on...

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-6, also known as vegetal-pale-gene-related and decaplentaplegic-vegetal-related) is a member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily of multifunctional signaling molecules. BMP-6 appears to play various biological roles in developing tissues, including regulation of epithelial differentiation. To study the possible involvement of BMP-6 in normal and ne...

PURPOSE Mucins are polymers that may reduce drag and enhance tear outflow. Mucin expression and distribution in human efferent tear ducts were tested in the physiological state, and potential differences in the expression pattern were investigated in the presence of primary acquired dacryostenosis (PANDO). METHODS Expression of mucins in human lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal ducts was monitored...

OBJECTIVE Evaluate the antigen profile of cellular population from basal cell adenomas. MATERIAL AND METHODS Histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluation of four-salivary gland basal cell adenomas; the pathological samples were provided by the Oral Maxilla Facial Surgery Department of the Clinical County Hospital from Craiova. RESULTS All basal cell adenoma exhibit differentiation t...

Mutations in the PKD2 gene account for ∼15% of all cases of autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease. In the present study the cellular distribution of the Pkd2 protein was investigated by immunohistochemistry in different rat organs. Although the Pkd2 protein showed a widespread expression, a strikingly different distribution of the protein was observed between individual organs. Whereas i...

The present study was performed to understand the regeneration of the intralobular duct and acinus of partially injured salivary glands. Sections of rat submandibular glands irradiated with YAG laser were investigated histologically, and the proliferative activity of regenerating tissue was also investigated immunohistochemically with anti 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) monoclonal antibody. Aft...

The secretory acinar cells of the salivary gland are essential for saliva secretion, but are also the cell type preferentially lost following radiation treatment for head and neck cancer. The source of replacement acinar cells is currently a matter of debate. There is evidence for the presence of adult stem cells located within specific ductal regions of the salivary glands, but our laboratory ...