Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 21 pp 21376—21390
The mechanism of submandibular gland dysfunction after menopause may be associated with the ferroptosis
- 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Pusan National University and Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea
- 2 Pusan National University Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea
- 3 Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Research Institute for Convergence of Biomedical Science and Technology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea
- 4 Department of Life Science in Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Korea
- 5 Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea
Received: May 15, 2020 Accepted: July 14, 2020 Published: November 5, 2020
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.103882How to Cite
Copyright: © 2020 Kwon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Salivary gland dysfunction is a common symptom that occurs after menopause. This study was performed to investigate the mechanism of salivary gland dysfunction to confirm the relationship between ferroptosis and salivary gland dysfunction by ovariectomy. Forty-eight female rats were randomly divided into four groups (12 rats in each group). Histology, real time PCR, western blot, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, cytosolic iron assay, and salivary function were analyzed. Human salivary gland tissue analysis was also done. Lipogenesis and lipid deposition in the submandibular gland tissue occurred after ovariectomy. ROS generation, MDA+HAE was increased and GPX4 activity was decreased and in the OVX group compared to the CON group. Iron deposition in the submandibular gland tissue was increased in the OVX group. Submandibular gland fibrosis was increased and saliva secretion was decreased in the OVX group. In human submandibular gland analysis, lipid and iron deposition was also increased in the postmenopause group. This is the first in vivo study in which salivary gland dysfunction is associated with the ferroptosis in postmenopausal animal model. Increased lipid and iron deposition in normal submandibular gland tissues of postmenopausal women can suggest that the salivary gland dysfunction after menopause may be associated with the ferroptosis.