Changes in the Submandibular Salivary Gland Epithelial Cell Subpopulations During Progression of Sj  gren's Syndrome-Like Disease in the NOD/ShiLtJ XXXX Model.

@entity8236 @entity31998 @entity1 @entity6 @entity19 @entity2133 @entity1887 @entity22981 @entity244 @entity195 @entity792 @entity20452
UNASSIGNED: Sj  @entity244 ( @entity244 ), an @entity792 , is associated with dysfunction of the secretory salivary gland epithelium, leading to @entity2133 . The etiology of @entity195 progression is poorly understood as it is typically not diagnosed until late stage. Since @entity19 models allow the study of disease progression, we investigated the NOD/ShiLtJ @entity19 to explore temporal changes to the salivary epithelium. In the NOD/ShiLtJ model, @entity244 presents secondary to autoimmune @entity6 , and @entity195 is reportedly fully established by 20 weeks. We compared epithelial morphology in the submandibular salivary glands (SMG) of NOD/ShiLtJ @entity19 with SMGs from the parental strain at 12, 18, and 22 weeks of age and used immunofluorescence to detect epithelial proteins, including the acinar marker, @entity31998 , ductal cell marker, @entity20452 , myoepithelial cell marker, smooth muscle a-actin, and the basal cell marker, @entity22981 , while confirming immune infiltrates with @entity8236 . We also compared these proteins in the labial salivary glands of @entity1 @entity244 @entity1 with control tissues. In the NOD/ShiLtJ SMG, regions of lymphocytic infiltrates were not associated with widespread epithelial tissue degradation; however, there was a decrease in the area of the gland occupied by secretory epithelial cells in favor of ductal epithelial cells. We observed an expansion of cells expressing @entity22981 within the ducts and within the smooth muscle a-actin(+) basal myoepithelial population. The altered acinar/ductal ratio within the NOD/ShiLtJ SMG likely contributes to @entity1887 , while the expansion of @entity22981 positive-basal cells may reflect loss of function or indicate a regenerative response. Anat Rec, 2015.    2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
