Effects of adriamycin on calcium concentration and morphology of mouse salivary glands

A large single dose (15 mg/kg body wt, ip) of the antitumor agent adriamycin (ADR) caused a marked increase in calcium concentration of submaxillary gland of female mice, and a smaller increase in the parotid gland within 2 days of injection. A small dose (2.5 mg/kg body wt) had no effect. The histological appearance of the glands was also changed and included an increase in size of granules and acinar cells of the submaxillary glands and a decrease in size of acinar cells of the parotid. At the EM level, there was evidence of mitochondrial alteration in the parotid but not in the submaxillary glands. Rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) was markedly disorganized in the parotid, and abnormal whorls of RER were evident. Submaxillary glands showed no change in RER. Water content of either gland was unchanged from that of controls. Heart ventricles, unexpectedly, showed no change in calcium concentration from that of control tissues, at 3 h, 1, 2 or 4 days after ADR administration. The [Ca] changes induced by ADR in the submaxillary glands are not mediated via beta-adrenoceptor activation since propranolol did not alter the ADR-induced changes. The marked difference in response of the glands (and heart) to ADR, suggests that the mechanisms involved in calcium homeostasis in these organs are very different.