Isolation and partial characterization of two populations of secretory granules from rat parotid glands

A method is described for the isolation of two populations of secretory granules from rat parotid glands utilizing differences in their sedimentation characteristics. The granule preparations were analyzed for homogeneity by electron microscopy and chemical analyses. The soluble contents of both types of granules were obtained by hypotonic lysis, and the proteins compared by SDS-PAGE and ion exchange-gel filtration chromatography. Both populations of secretory granules appear to have the same protein composition as that of the parotid saliva. The secretory granules with the smaller apparent buoyant density became labelled with radioactive leucine earlier than the heavier granules when a pulse of this amino acid was supplied to a gland slice system. The lighter granules appear to represent an earlier stage in maturation.