Saliva is the principal protective agent for the mouth and thus is of primary importance to oral health maintenance. Perturbations of salivary secretory mechanisms can consequently lead to serious oral health problems. The objective of this project is to study the membrane and cellular processes which underlie the phenomenon of salivary fluid secretion and thus to contribute to our understanding of the fluid secretory process. Because similar secretory mechanisms are thought to be common to a number of other exocrine glands, this information should be of rather broad applicability and interest. During the present reporting period we have continued our in-depth studies of the function, regulation and molecular biology of the salivary Na-K-2Cl cotransporter. This plasma membrane transport protein is thought to be the major Cl entry pathway into salivary acinar cells and thus to be primarily responsible for driving Cl secretion, and thereby fluid secretion, in salivary glands. Obtaining a better understanding of this protein and its behavior in the intact acinar cell will improve our knowledge of salivary function and dysfunction, as well as possibly providing indications of how to treat the latter.
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