title: Nitric oxide signalling in salivary glands.
abstract: Nitric oxide (NO) plays multiple roles in both intracellular and extracellular signalling mechanisms with implications for health and disease. This review focuses on the role of NO signalling in salivary secretion. Attention will be paid primarily to endogenous NO production in acinar cells resulting from specific receptor stimulation and to NO-regulated Ca2+ homeostasis. Due to the fact that NO readily crosses membranes by simple diffusion, endogenous NO may play a physiological role in processes as diverse as modifying the secretory output, controlling blood supply to the gland, modulating transmitter output from nerve endings, participating in the host defence barrier, and affecting growth and differentiation of surrounding tissue. Furthermore, the role of NO in the pathogenesis of human oral diseases will be considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Dagnia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Looms
authors.forename: Katerina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tritsaris
authors.forename: Anne Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: Birgitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nauntofte
authors.forename: Steen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dissing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000378:metabolism; D017869:Cyclic GMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000378:metabolism; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism*; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D017869:Cyclic GMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; D006152:Cyclic GMP; D002118:Calcium