Abstract
Summary
Stimulation of the rat parotid gland was effected by pilocarpine administration immediately following removal of one superior cervical ganglion and saliva was collected from the denervated gland and contra-lateral neurally intact mate. In this fashion it was possible to evaluate the effects of sympathetic and parasympathetic stimulation on the secretory responses of several proteins in parotid saliva. The flow rate of saliva obtained with cholinergic stimulation was higher than that with adrenergic stimulation. On the other hand, stimulation of adrenergic receptors caused secretion of total protein and amylase from the gland, in appreciably higher concentration than that elicited in response to cholinergic stimulation. Amylase level in secretion obtained from the neurally intact parotid gland immediately following pilocarpine injection was about 20 times that of the sympathectomized gland and gradually decreased with time reaching a level of about 4 times that of the denervated mate after 45 min. The levels of IgA in saliva evoked by sympathetic and parasympathetic stimulation paralleled the pattern noted with amylase but the difference with different autonomic stimuli was not as extensive as that with amylase. From this similarity of pattern and difference in extent between the secretion of IgA and amylase, it was inferred that IgA is not transferred by the gland like intrinsic proteins. IgG levels in saliva were independent of flow rate and kind and time of stimulation.
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