Abstract
Summary
Unilateral removal of the auriculotemporal nerve to parotid of adult rat results in decrease in gland size, total DNA and RNA. Some of these changes are evident 4 days after denervation; by 14 days, decreases in all three parameters are pronounced, and remain at this level even after 84 days. If the superior cervical ganglion is unilaterally removed, weight and DNA of the denervated gland are increased 4 days after denervation, but after 14 days, DNA is decreased to levels of the innervated gland, and small decreases in RNA and gland size are seen. With either parasympathectomy or complete postganglionectomy, DNA is reduced by approximately 16% when comparison is made with innervated glands in the same animals. In view of the gland enlargement observed 4 days after sympathectomy, mitotic activity was followed during the first 6 days following denervation. Marked mitotic activity was observed in both Sx and PxSx glands, and maximal levels of 15-19 per 1000 acinar cells were recorded after 2 days; Px glands did not exhibit mitotic bursts and mitotic activity in these, as well as in the innervated glands was relatively low (1-3 per 1000). It is suggested that the altered physiological status of the glands provides the background for induction of mitosis.
This work was supported in part by a grant from U.S. Public Health Service, DE 02110. The author thanks the Dairy Council of Greater Birmingham for generously supplying milk used, and Mead Johnson Co. for supplying Metrecal.
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