Can we rescue salivary gland function after irradiation?
Hyposalivation induced by exposure of the salivary gland to radiation while treating head and neck cancer patients, can result in xerostomia (dry mouth syndrome), which burdens the patient with oral dryness or pain, dental caries, reduced taste and smell, increased risk for oral infections, hampered speech, and problems with food mastication. Stem cell therapy may be an option to reduce radiation-induced damage to the salivary glands permanently. This Directions in Science article reviews a recent study (Lombaert et al, 2008) using tissue stem cells to regenerate the salivary glands from cells that originate from putative stem cells residing in the ductal compartment. Lombaert et al showed restoration of function of irreversibly damaged mouse submandibular glands after intraglandular injection of an in vitro cultured c-Kit+ cell population containing salivary gland stem cells. The findings raise the prospect of clinical autologous salivary gland stem cell transplantation after radiotherapy.
Department of Cell Biology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
Jielin
J
Feng
Robert P
RP
Coppes
D000818:Animals; D051379:Mice; D012038:Regeneration; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013363:Submandibular Gland / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects*