Rescue of non-healing, degenerative salivary glands by cholinergic-calcium signaling.

ABSTRACT: Chronic degenerative wounds are often deemed irreparable, directing research efforts to focus predominantly on acute tissue injury regeneration while leaving endogenous repair mechanisms for chronically damaged tissues largely unexplored. In this study, we demonstrate that non-healing, severely degenerated salivary gland tissues can be fundamentally restored through first-line treatment with muscarinic agonists. This approach rescues tissue structure and function, returning it to a homeostatic-like state, and reactivates endogenous regeneration processes to drive new cell expansion that persists for months post-treatment. Furthermore, neuromimetic activation profoundly depletes radiation-induced DNA damage and re-establishes the nerve-acinar relationship, ultimately restoring the tissues p

SUBMITTER: Li J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11722244 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature