Murine Salivary Functional Assessment via Pilocarpine Stimulation Following Fractionated Radiation

Summary

We present a detailed approach to performing saliva collection, including murine tracheostomy and the isolation of three major salivary glands.

Abstract

Hyposalivation is commonly observed in the autoimmune reaction of Sjögren's syndrome or following radiation injury to the major salivary glands. In these cases, questions remain regarding disease pathogenesis and effective interventions. An optimized technique that allows functional assessment of the salivary glands is invaluable for investigating exocrine gland biology, dysfunction, and therapeutics. Here, we present a step by step approach to performing pilocarpine stimulated saliva secretion, including tracheostomy and the dissection of the three major murine salivary glands. We also detail the appropriate murine head and neck anatomy accessed during these techniques. This approach is scalable, allowing for multiple mice to be processed simultaneously, thus improving the efficiency of the work flow. We aim to improve the reproducibility of these methods, each of which has further applications within the field. In addition to saliva collection, we discuss metrics for quantifying and normalizing functional capacity of these tissues. Representative data are included from submandibular glands with depressed salivary gland function 2 weeks following fractionated radiation (4 doses of 6.85 Gy).

Introduction

Salivary gland disorders include syndromes of dysregulated or impaired secretion leading to either overproduction (sialorrhea) or underproduction (xerostomia and hyposalivation) of saliva¹. In both cases, there is an interest in improving our understanding of salivary gland biology towards the end goal of therapeutic development².

The salivary glands are highly radiosensitive organs, and are often damaged during head and neck cancer radiotherapy, leading to permanent dry mouth (xerostomia)^3,4. Unlike other radiosensitive tissues, howev....

Protocol

All in vivo procedures outlined below were approved by the University Committee on Animal Resources at the University of Rochester, Rochester. NY.

1. Preparation

1. Using an analytical balance, weigh 20 mg of pilocarpine. Dissolve it in 2 mL of sterile saline in a microcentrifuge tube.
   NOTE: Because pilocarpine is light sensitive and loses activity over time, this solution should be prepared the day of injection, and protected from light until administered.
2. Using an analytical balance, weigh and identify all collection tubes and glass capillaries. The number of collection tubes and glass capillaries should....

Results

When performing high dose pilocarpine stimulated saliva collection, it is important to maintain the airway to prevent aspiration or choking from secretions in the oral cavity. A schematic of the tracheostomy is provided (Figure 1). Following tracheal incision, the stoma must remain clear of tissue and fluids.

To enhance capillary action during saliva collection, mice should be positioned with their .......

Discussion

We present a multistep method to assess salivary gland function, which can be applied to study gland injury and therapeutics. Our procedure involves tracheostomy, saliva collection, and gland dissection, each of which has experimental applications that can support an integrated study of salivary gland biology. For example, murine tracheostomy has been used for general airway management during procedures obstructing the oral cavity.

Proper dissection and tracheal incision are required for piloc.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Pilocarpine hydrochloride	Sigma Aldrich	P6503	Pilocarpine
Student Vannas Spring Scissors	Fine Science Tools	91500-9	Spring Scissors for Tracheostomy
Sterile Saline Solution	Medline	RDI30296H	Saline
Dumont #7 Forceps	Fine Science Tools	11274-20	Curved Forceps
Dumont #5 Forceps	Fine Science Tools	11251-10	Straight Forceps
Standard Pattern Forceps	Fine Science Tools	11000-12	Blunt Forceps
Fine Scissors- Tungsten Carbide	Fine Science Tools	14568-09	Dissection Scissors
Microhematocrit Heparinized Capillary Tubes	Fisher Scientific	22362566	Capillary tubes
Lubricant Eye Ointment	Refresh	N/A	Refresh Lacri-Lube
Goat polyclonal anti-Nkcc1	Santa Cruz Biotech	SC-21545	Nkcc1 Antibody
DAPI (4',6-Diamidino-2-Phenylindole, Dihydrochloride)	Thermo Fisher Scientific	D1306	DAPI
GraphPad Prism	GraphPad	ver6.0	Statistical Software
Cotton tipped applicator	Medline	MDS202000	Applicator for eye ointment
0.5cc Insulin Syringe, 29G x 1/2"	BD	7629	Syringe for intraperitoneal injection