JHC exPRESS: First Published September 17, 2007. doi:10.1369/jhc.7A7269.2007 Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry Copyright © 2007 Kimoto et al. A more recent version of this article appeared on January 1, 2008.
Label-retaining Cells in the Rat Submandibular Gland
1 Department of Oral Pathology (MKimoto,MKishino,ST,YO) and Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery II (MKimoto,YY), Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Osaka, Japan
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ogawa{at}dent.osaka-u.ac.jp.
-smooth muscle actin ( SMA; a myoepithelial cell marker), and thus were putative stem cells. These (K18 and SMA)neg LRCs were invariably observed in the intercalated duct and the excretory duct. In the intercalated duct, they were at the proximal end bordering the acinus (the neck of the intercalated duct). Next, to test the above identification, gland extirpation experiments were performed. LRCs were established by labeling developing glands with iododeoxyuridine (IdU) in place of BrdU. Removal of one submandibular gland forced the IdU-LRCs in the remaining gland to divide. They were labeled with chlorodeoxyuridine (CldU). The (K18 and SMA)neg LRCs in the neck of the intercalated duct and in the excretory duct did not change in number or in IdU label. The CldU label appeared in these cells and then disappeared. These results indicate that the (K18 and SMA)neg LRCs have divided asymmetrically and are thus considered salivary gland stem cells.
Key Words: stem cell, salivary gland, rat, immunohistochemistry
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