Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, Vol 4, 565-571, Copyright © 1993 by International & American Associations for Dental Research
The effect of adrenergic agonists and antagonists on the expression of proteins in rat submandibular and parotid glands
G. S. Bedi
Department of Oral Biology, School of Medicine, State University of New York, Buffalo 14214.
The present investigation was undertaken to study the effect of
adrenoreceptor modulators on the expression of salivary proteins.
Sprague-Dawley rats were treated for 10 consecutive days with adrenergic
agonists isoproterenol, dobutamine, terbutaline, salbutamol,
methoxyphenamine, or methoxamine. Antiserum to selected salivary proteins
was used to compare the concentration of these proteins in the
submandibular and parotid glands of treated animals. Chronic treatments of
rats (50 mumol/kg body weight for 10 d) with either isoproterenol or
dobutamine induced synthesis of a cysteine-proteinase inhibitor (cystatin)
in the submandibular glands. When isoproterenol was injected concomitantly
with the mixed beta-antagonist propranolol or the beta 1-adrenergic
antagonists metaprolol, protocol, or atenolol, the induction of cystatin
was totally suppressed. However, the beta 2-antagonist, ICI-118551,
produced only partial reduction in cystatin induction elicited by
isoproterenol. On the contrary, rats treated with either isoproterenol or
beta 1-agonists demonstrated a significantly reduced concentration of
serine-proteinase kallikrein in submandibular glands. The decrease observed
in submandibular kallikrein of rats treated with isoproterenol was
prevented by concomitant treatment with beta 1-antagonists but not with
beta 2-antagonists. Because kallikreins are produced by ductal cells and
cystatins are produced by acinar cells of submandibular glands, these
observations suggest that there may be differential control of expression
of proteins synthesized by ductal and acinar cells. Chronic treatment of
rats with nonselective beta-agonist isoproterenol or beta 1-selective
agonists increased markedly the proline-rich proteins (PRP) in parotid
glands, but the parotid amylase concentration was not significantly
affected by beta-adrenergic agonists.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
