Abstract
Submandibular acinar cells of 1-day-old, 7-day-old, and adult rats were analyzed with X-ray microanalysis after stimulation with carbachol for different time periods (2–7 min). In unstimulated animals, marked differences in elemental content between compartments could be observed: secretory granules had a higher Ca and lower P and K content than other cell compartments. Comparison between different age groups showed significant differences for Ca, which increased with age in all compartments; Mg increased with age in the secretory granules and the apical cytoplasm. Only the glands from adult animals showed a significant effect of cholinergic stimulation: a transient decrease in Cl and K. The Cl concentration in the secretory granules decreased to 60% of the control value, which suggests that the granules release Cl upon stimulation. In young animals, no or little change in elemental distribution was observed after stimulation. This may indicate that Cl-secretion mechanisms are much less prominent in young animals. The ultrastructure of submandibular secretory granules depends on the preparation method: condensed and electrondense in freeze-substituted unfixed tissue, decondensed and more translucent in aldehyde-fixed tissue. This may indicate that the granules can transport water, and swell during the process of aldehyde fixation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chang WW (1974) Cell population changes during acinus formation in the postnatal submandibular gland. Anat Rec 178:187–202
Clapham DE (1995) Calcium signalling. Cell 80:259–268
Cook DI, Van Lennep EW, Roberts ML, Young JA (1994) Secretion by the major salivary glands. In: Johnson LR (ed) Physiology of the gastrointestinal tract. Raven Press. New York, pp 1061–1117
Gasser KW, DiDomenico J, Hopfer U (1988) Potassium transport by pancreatic and parotid zymogen granule membranes. Am J Physiol 255:C705-C711
Gerasimenko OV, Gerasimenko JV, Tepikin A, Petersen OH (1995) ATP-dependent accumulation and inositol triphosphate-or cyclic ADP-ribose-mediated release of Ca2+ from the nuclear envelope. Cell 80:439–444
Goddard MK, Izutsu KT, Johnson DE, Ensign WY, Izutsu SM, Wilkinson LE, Chen SW, Wong JL (1989) Evidence for two conductance/exchange pathways for chloride in rat parotid secretory granules. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 155:984–989
Izutsu KT, Johnson DE (1986) Changes in elemental concentrations of rat parotid acinar cells following pilocarpine stimulation. J Physiol (Lond) 381:297–309
Izutsu K, Johnson D, Schubert M, Wang E, Ramsey B, Tamarin A, Truelove E, Ensign W, Young M (1985) Electron microprobe analysis of human labial gland secretory granules in cystic fibrosis. J Clin Invest 75:1951–1956
Izutsu KT, Cantino ME, Johnson DE (1994) A review of electron probe X-ray microanalysis studies of salivary gland cells. Microse Res Tech 27:71–79
Jacoby F, Leeson CR (1959) The post-natal development of the rat submaxillary gland. J Anat 93:201–216
Leeson CR, Jacoby F (1959) An electron microscopic study of the rat submaxillary gland during its post-natal development and in the adult. J Anat 93:287–295
Martinez JR (1990) Cellular mechanisms underlying the production of primary secretory fluid in salivary glands. Crit Rev Oral Biol Med 1:67–78
Martinez JR, Camden J (1987)36Cl-fluxes in dispersed cell aggregates of the submandibular salivary gland of early postnatal rats. Arch Oral Biol 32:659–663
Martinez JR, Camden J (1989) Ca2+ mobilization and Cl efflux in submandibular salivary cells of adult and newborn rats. Arch Oral Biol 34:147–152
Martinez JR, Cassidy N (1986)36Cl-fluxes in dispersed rat submandibular acini: effects of Ca2+ omission and of the ionophore A23187. Pflügers Arch 407:615–619
Moreira JE, Ball WD, Mirels L, Hand AR (1991) Accumulation and localization of two adult acinar cell secretory proteins during development of the rat submandibular gland. Am J Anat 191:167–184
Müller RM, Grundin TG, Roomans GM (1985) Effects of reserpine and isoproterenol on elemental distribution in submandibular gland of rat. Acta Physiol Scand 123:383–391
Roomans GM (1988) Quantitative X-ray microanalysis of biological specimens. J Electron Microsc Techn 9:19–44
Roomans GM, Müller RM, Sagström S, Sagulin G-B, Scarlett SM, Wroblewski J, Albertsson M (1989) X-ray microanalysis of mammalian salivary glands. Scanning Microsc 3:225–241
Sandoz D, Nicolas G, Laine MC (1985) Two mucous cell types revisited after quick-freezing and cryosubstitution. Biol Cell 54:79–88
Sasaki S, Nakagaki I, Mori H, Imai I (1983) Intracellular calcium store and transport of elements in acinar cells of the salivary gland determined by electron probe X-ray microanalysis. Jpn J Physiol 33:69–83
Seagrave JC, Barker S, Martinez AM, Martinez JR (1993) Muscarinic signaling pathway in submandibular cells of adult and early postnatal rats. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 203:490–499
Van Harreveld H, Crowell J, Malhotra SK (1965) A study of extracellular space in central nervous tissue by freeze-substitution. J Cell Biol 25:117–137
Young JA, Van Lennep J (1979) Transport in salivary and salt glands. In: Giebisch G, Tosteson DC, Ussing HH (eds) Membrane transport in biology Springer Heidelberg Berlin New York, pp 563–692
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mörk, AC., Zhang, A., Ricardo Martinez, J. et al. Chloride secretion in the submandibular gland of adult and early postnatal rats studied by X-ray microanalysis. Histochem Cell Biol 105, 297–303 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01463932
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01463932