Amylase and electrolyte changes after postganglionic parasympathectomy of parotid gland

¹ Departments of Physiology and Oral Surgery, University of Alabama Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama

Severance of the postganglionic parasympathetic innervation to the parotid gland of the rat resulted, at 4 weeks, in appreciable reduction in the size of the whole gland and of individual acinar cells, without evidence of an increase in the total number of these cells. Some increase in connective tissue was also observed in the denervated glands. Concentration of sodium in the denervated gland was increased, probably reflecting the increase in connective tissue. Sodium and potassium concentrations of the secretion and rate of secretory flow were essentially unchanged. Amylase was appreciably reduced in total amount and in concentration in the unstimulated parotid gland after denervation. Calculation of the concentration of amylase in acinar cells of the denervated gland showed that there was marked reduction in the concentration of this enzyme intracellularly. It was concluded that the parasympathetic innervation to the parotid gland is involved in maintenance of normal concentrations of amylase in the acinar cells but the mechanism of this regulation is not yet established.

Key Words: denervation • autonomic regulation • salivary glands • enzymes after denervation • secretion after denervation

Submitted on December 23, 1963

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