Morphological and functional study of the effect of isoproterenol on salivary gland cells

The cellular mechanisms responsible for the structural and functional alterations produced in salivary glands by isoproterenol (ISP) were investigated. Postnatal rats were injected with ISP, and alterations in the structure and protein components of the submandibular glands were determined. Normal age-dependent protein patterns detected by electrophoresis are attributed to the biochemical and functional differentiation of proacinar and acinar secretory cells and correlate with structural changes in these cells. Structural changes induced by ISP involve the acinar cells without detectably altering terminal tubule cells. In addition, synthesis of a specific protein by the glands is enhanced by ISP treatment. By comparing protein patterns in the submandibular glands of control and treated rats, it was concluded that ISP increases synthesis of a specific salivary protein normally produced by proacinar cells during a limited period of glandular development. These results suggest that a neurally mediated regulaotry mechanism that becomes altered by ISP plays a role in normal salivary gland development.