Isolation of acini from nasal glands of the guinea‐pig

Abstract

A procedure for isolating the acinar cells of the serous gland in the mammalian nasal septum has been developed. This technique is characterized by meticulous and selective isolation with minimal contamination by the surface epithelial cells and employs enzymatic treatment with collagenase. The isolated cells were confirmed to be serous gland acini as shown by negative staining with Alcian blue and a high electron density of the granules. The acini were more than 90% viable as judged by trypan blue exclusion. Ultrastructural integrity of the cells was well maintained following the isolation procedure. Application of acetylcholine to the isolated acini induced an inward current in a whole-cell patch clamp and increased intracellular Ca2+ concentration measured by fura-2. These acetylcholine responses were completely blocked by atropine. These physiological findings directly demonstrated that nasal gland acini possess muscarinic-activated receptors as previously suggested. These isolated cells hold promise for the in vitro study of secretory mechanisms in the mammalian nasal gland.

Functional inferior turbinosurgery (FITS) for the treatment of resistant chronic rhinitis

“…Nasal fluid secretion is mainly due to submucosal nasal glands, with a lower contribution from an increase in the vascular and epithelial permeability [15]. Glandular secretion is regulated by muscarinic receptor stimulation mediated by parasympathetic nerves in mammals according to in vivo [16,17] and in vitro [18,19] studies. The increased sensitivity of muscarinic receptors [20] has been proposed to be responsible for cholinergicmediated hypersecretion in allergic rhinitis [21].…”

Xanthine derivatives inhibit the increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration induced by acetylcholine in nasal gland acinar cells of the guinea-pig

“…We developed an isolation procedure to prevent any contamination by the surface epithelium [13]. Briefly, the septal mucosa was separated from the cartilage beneath the cartilaginous membrane and inverted in a Petri dish containing the cell-storage solution.…”