PAROTID DEGENERATION SECRETION OF AMYLASE IN VITRO IN THE RAT FOLLOWING SYMPATHECTOMY

Abstract

After extirpation of the superior cervical ganglion in the rat a degeneration secretion of amylase occurs in an in vitro preparation of the parotid gland. It can be detected about 14 h after the sympathectomy, reaches a maximum after about 17 h and then slowly subsides. It is abolished by atenolol, but not by dihydroergotamine or atropine, nor by tetrodotoxin. From this it is concluded that the phenomenon is due to an action mainly on β1‐adrenoceptors exerted by noradrenaline, which is released from the degenerating sympathetic nerves at the neuro‐glandular junctions, independently of propagated nerve impulses.

Degeneration Secretion of Amylase From the Parotid Gland of the Rat

“…However, these experiments are complicated by the fact that the parasympathetic degeneration secretion already contains substantial amounts of amylase. Attempts were therefore made to see whether sympathetic degeneration secretion of amylase can be better studied in an in vitro system, in which amylase may be released directly into the bath (Asking, Emmelin, Gjorstrup & Parsson, 1982). This work was supported by grants from the Swedish Medical Research Council to N.E.…”