Search for salivation-enhancing factor to recover reduced denture adsorption

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K17131
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 57050:Prosthodontics-related
• Research Institution: Nihon University
• Principal Investigator: YOKOYAMA Megumi 日本大学, 松戸歯学部, 専任講師 (70610252)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 唾液腺 / 分泌機能亢進因子 / 細胞増殖

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study is to identify factors that enhance secretory function in salivary glands with reduced secretory function. The unilateral parotid gland excretory duct of the mouse was ligated to prepare a mouse model of unilateral parotid gland injury. Analysis using DNA microarray was performed using the injured, non-injured and control parotid glands. Candidates for secretory function-enhancing factors were extracted from genes whose expression levels were more than doubled in the injured parotid gland as compared to the control parotid gland. In this study, we focused on Bmp2, which is involved in cell differentiation and proliferation, as a candidate for enhancing salivary gland secretion function. It was revealed that BMP2 has the effect of promoting cell proliferation of primary cultured cells of parotid gland acinar cells.

Free Research Field

生理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

唾液は口腔内環境を健康に保つために重要な役割を果たしている。高齢者は唾液の分泌量が低下することが知られている。本研究では、唾液分泌機能亢進因子としてBMP2を見出し、BMP2は腺房細胞を増殖させる役割があることを明らかにした。高齢化が進み、３人に１人が総義歯を使用する現在の社会において、唾液は義歯吸着にも関与していることから、唾液を産生する腺房細胞を増殖させる因子を見出したことは大変大きな意義がある。唾液の分泌機能を回復させる研究としては、器官再生による再生医療の研究が盛んにおこなわれている中で、高齢者へ侵襲がより少ない方法で唾液腺機能の回復を目指すことは学術的にも大いに意義がある。