Real-time analyses of exocytosis and Ca2+ and cAMP responses

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26462820
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Functional basic dentistry
• Research Institution: Health Sciences University of Hokkaido
• Principal Investigator: Morita Takao 北海道医療大学, 歯学部, 講師 (20326549)
• Research Collaborator: MURATA Kaori ; TAKAHASHI Ayumi
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 唾液腺 / 唾液分泌 / アミラーゼ分泌 / ウイルスベクター / カルシウムセンサー / cAMPセンサー / ピロカルピン / 遺伝子発現

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We succeeded in expressing the Ca2+ or cAMP biosensors in rat submandibular glands (SMG) by retrograde ductal injection of viral vectors such as adenovirus and lentivirus, and monitoring Ca2+ or cAMP responses.
We examined the effects of preadministration of pilocarpine (Pilo), which is known to be a muscarinic agonist and a therapeutic drug of Sjogren syndrome, in saliva secretion and gene expression. Preadministration of Pilo increased in the amount of saliva induced by Pilo compared to control untreated rat. Comprehensive analyses of gene expression in rat SMG and brain were performed. As the results, in Pilo-preadministrated rat, about 120 genes in the SMG and 60 genes in the brain were up-regulated or down-regulated remarkably (> 2 fold) compared to control rat. These results suggest that Pilo enhanced salivary secretion and gene expression through activation of muscarinic receptor in the SMG and the brain.

Free Research Field

歯科薬理学