If the function of salivary glands that secrete saliva is degraded, saliva secretion will decrease and symptoms of xerostomia will appear. Although symptoms of xerostomia are often felt by patients with diabetes, the relationship between diabetes and xerostomia is currently unclear. In relation to DM, there are studies on salivation flow and saliva composition, but there are not studies of apoptosis of salivary gland cells. The objective of this study was to investigate whether apoptosis in salivary glands of mice with hyperglycemic, a symptom of diabetes, might be altered based on immunohistochemical analysis. This study used mice with hyperglycemia. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot analyses were performed using Fas, Bax, and cleaved caspase-3 antibodies. These antibodies are used not only as death receptors, but also are antibodies that activate upstream and downstream signals of apoptosis. TUNEL assay was performed to detect apoptosis by immunofluorescence using TdT enzyme. It was observed that the expression level of apoptosis signaling molecules and TUNEL positive cells were increased in hyperglycemia group (HG). As a result, there are many apoptosis cells in the HG groups of the salivary gland. The results of this study, the function of salivary gland could occur deteriorated due to apoptosis on salivary gland cells by hyperglycemic, a characteristic of diabetes.
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