Parotid glands have a dysregulated immune response following radiation therapy.

ABSTRACT: Head and neck cancer treatment often consists of surgical resection of the tumor followed by ionizing radiation (IR), which can damage surrounding tissues and cause adverse side effects. The underlying mechanisms of radiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction are not fully understood, and treatment options are scarce and ineffective. The wound healing process is a necessary response to tissue injury, and broadly consists of inflammatory, proliferative, and redifferentiation phases with immune cells playing key roles in all three phases. In this study, select immune cells were phenotyped and quantified, and certain cytokine and chemokine concentrations were measured in mouse parotid glands after IR. Further, we used a model where glandular function is restored to assess the immune phenotyp

SUBMITTER: Gunning JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10931461 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature