Salivary Gland Dysplasia in Fgf10 Heterozygous Mice: A New Mouse Model of Xerostomia.

ABSTRACT: Xerostomia, or chronic dry mouth, is a common syndrome caused by a lack of saliva that can lead to severe eating difficulties, dental caries and oral candida infections. The prevalence of xerostomia increases with age and affects approximately 30% of people aged 65 or older. Given the large numbers of sufferers, and the potential increase in incidence given our aging population, it is important to understand the complex mechanisms that drive hyposalivation and the consequences for the dentition and oral mucosa. From this study we propose the Fgf10 +/- mouse as a model to investigate xerostomia. By following embryonic salivary gland development, in vivo and in vitro, we show that a reduction in Fgf10 causes a delay in branching of salivary glands. This leads to hypoplasia of the glands, a p

SUBMITTER: May AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5405808 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature