title: Chronic alcohol ingestion enhances tumor necrosis factor-alpha expression and salivary gland apoptosis.
abstract: We investigated the extent of induction in sublingual salivary gland cells apoptosis and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) expression with chronic ethanol ingestion. The experiments were conducted on rats pair-fed for 8 weeks with alcohol-containing and control liquid diet. The animals were killed, their sublingual glands dissected, and the glandular tissue used for quantization of TNF-alpha expression and the assays of acinar cells apoptosis employing sandwich enzyme immunoassay for histone-associated DNA fragments. The mean value for TNF-alpha in sublingual gland of the control group was 22.3 pg/mg of protein and showed a 1.6-fold increase in the chronic ethanol diet group to 36.5 pg/mg of protein. In comparison with the controls, the sublingual gland of the chronic ethanol diet group also exhibited a 3.4-fold enhancement in acinar cell apoptosis. These findings suggest that chronic ethanol ingestion causes the enhancement in TNF-alpha expression and leads to the induction in salivary gland acinar cells apoptosis. Thus, the diminished secretion of saliva in alcoholics may be a direct result of increased salivary gland apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Research Center, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark 07103-2400, USA.
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Slomiany
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piotrowski
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Slomiany
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012472:Salivation / Q000187:drug effects; D013361:Sublingual Gland / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D000431:Ethanol