Salivary Gland Secretion Mechanisms

Dental &Craniofacial Research

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The health of the oral cavity is maintained by salivary secretions. Our past studies focused on understanding mechanisms of saliva formation, their alteration during pathology, and developing novel methods to treat salivary dysfunction. During this reporting period we continued to utilize gene transfer technology to alter salivary epithelial cells to address clinical and biological questions. We have extended studies using adeno-associated viral vectors (serotype 2), demonstrating stable expression of biologically active human IL-10 in, and secretion from, murine submandibular glands (SMGs) for >2 months. We also continued our studies on the hybrid adeno-retroviral vector that we reported last year, focusing on understanding if the integrated transgene is the site of expression. We previously showed that transgenes contain sorting signals recognized by salivary glands in vivo, leading to specific patterns of polarized protein secretion. This year we showed that the use of hydroxychloroquine facilitates the endocrine-like secretion transgenic human growth hormone from salivary glands. We also continued to make progress towards the development of an orally implantable, first generation artificial salivary gland. Our clinical studies continue to focus on determining if the salivary dysfunction accompanying Sjogren's syndrome can be ameliorated by immunomodulatory therapy, and our results this year provide support for this hypothesis.