| First Author | Zoukhri D | Year | 2001 |
| Journal | Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci | Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 925-32 |
| PubMed ID | 11274068 | Mgi Jnum | J:68663 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1933037 | Citation | Zoukhri D, et al. (2001) Impaired neurotransmitter release from lacrimal and salivary gland nerves of a murine model of Sjogren's syndrome. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 42(5):925-32 |
| abstractText | PURPOSE: To determine whether lacrimal and salivary gland nerves of an animal model of Sjogren's syndrome, the MRL/lpr mouse, are able to release acetylcholine. The second purpose was to determine whether activation of the lacrimal gland nerves of the MRL/lpr mouse leads to protein secretion. METHODS: Total saliva was collected for 10 minutes from the oral cavity of male and female MRL/lpr and MRL/+ mice, after intraperitoneal stimulation with pilocarpine and isoproterenol. Lacrimal and salivary gland lobules prepared from 18-week-old MRL/lpr and MRL/+ mice were incubated in the presence of depolarizing KCl (75 mM) solution. Acetylcholine release and peroxidase secretion (a protein secreted by the lacrimal gland) were measured using a spectrofluorometric assay. RESULTS: Female, but not male, MRL/lpr mouse salivary glands were hyper-responsive to in vivo injection of secretagogues. These mice produced significantly higher amounts of saliva than did age-matched MRL/+ mice. Lacrimal and salivary gland nerves from 18-week-old MRL/+ mice released acetylcholine in response to a depolarizing KCl solution. In contrast, nerves in glands from 18-week-old MRL/lpr mice did not increase acetylcholine release in response to the depolarizing solution. Moreover, lacrimal glands from 18-week-old MRL/+ mice were able to secrete peroxidase in response to a depolarizing KCl solution, whereas those from 18-week-old MRL/lpr could not. This was not due to a defect in the secretory process, because addition of an exogenous secretagogue elicited peroxidase secretion from 18-week-old MRL/lpr as well as MRL/+ mice lacrimal glands. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that activation of nerves of lacrimal and salivary glands infiltrated with lymphocytes does not increase the release of neurotransmitters, which results in impaired secretion from these glands. |
