Neurotrophic factor GDNF promotes survival of salivary stem cells

Expression patterns of CD66a and CD117 in the mouse submandibular gland

“…Although the expression of CD117 and CK5 are involved with stem/progenitor cells of salivary glands (Lombaert et al, 2008;Feng et al, 2009;Knox et al, 2010;Lombaert and Hoffman, 2010;Xiao et al, 2014), comparative analyses of their expression patterns in the adult glands have not been reported. In the excretory duct, four types of cells regarding the expression of CD117 and CK5 were recognized, including cells positive for both CD117 and CK5, positive either for CD117 or for CK5, and negative for both molecules ( Fig.…”

“…Recently, cell surface molecules CD117 (also referred to as c-Kit) and Sca-1, which are expressed by ductal cells in salivary glands, have been used to isolate putative stem/progenitor cells from the adult mouse SMG (Hisatomi et al, 2004;Lombaert et al, 2008;Feng et al, 2009;Nanduri et al, 2013;Xiao et al, 2014). The existence of cells with stem/progenitor cell activities in the CD117-expressing population was demonstrated by the in vitro sphere formation and http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acthis.2014.11.004 0065-1281/© 2014 Elsevier GmbH.…”

“…A small fraction of cultured SMG cells proliferated to form spheres with differentiated acinar and ductal cells and, following the transplantation of CD117-expressing cells isolated from the spheres into irradiated mouse SMGs, the saliva secretion of the mice was partially restored. More recently, it was furthermore demonstrated that, of the different cells isolated from the mouse SMG, the Lin − CD24 + CD117 + Sca1 + population exhibited the highest activity for proliferation, self-renewal and differentiation in vitro and in vivo (Xiao et al, 2014). It is far less understood, however, how salivary stem/progenitor cells identified so far relate to each other.…”

Rescue Effects and Underlying Mechanisms of IntraglandShhGene Delivery on Irradiation-Induced Hyposalivation

“…4C: n = 3, p < 0.05 for all comparisons except that of Ngf expression in nonirradiated female SMGs). We also examined the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (Gdnf), a neurotrophic factor highly expressed in putative salivary gland stem cells and capable of promoting the restoration of salivary gland function after IR, 23 but the expression level of Gdnf mRNA in all of our SMG samples was below the detection threshold of our qRT-PCR assay (C t >35 in reactions with 40 cycles of amplification). These data indicated that Shh gene transfer after IR preserved parasympathetic innervation, likely through the preservation or upregulation of neurotrophic factors including Bdnf, Ngf, and Neurturin.…”

Botulinum Toxin Confers Radioprotection in Murine Salivary Glands

“…Recent evidence from our laboratory (14,15) and others (16,17) indicates that the chronic phase of salivary gland dysfunction is mediated by damage to stem cells and progenitor cells. This damage can be mitigated by activation of aldehyde dehydrogenase-3 and treatment with glial cell linederived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), which promote survival of salivary stem cells (14,15,18). These studies have generated much interest in further understanding the mechanisms of radiation-induced salivary dysfunction and providing tools for radioprotection.…”