title: Atrial natriuretic peptide presence in parotid gland of human fetus at 13th week of development and in adult man.
abstract: Our immunohistochemical study shows that atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is present in both human fetal and adult parotid gland. In the fetuses ANP is localized in cell clusters, while in adult parotid gland, the ANP is seen only in the wall of intra- and extralobular ducts. The results suggest that ANP might play a role in the differentiation of the parotid gland similarly as in brain and that during fetal growth ANP may play a role in the regulating the secretion of primitive salivary fluid, even if acini are still not developed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicina Sperimentale e Neuroscienze Cliniche (BioNec), Histology and Embryology, Human Anatomy, University of Palermo, Italy. aldogerbino@tiscali.it.
authors.forename: Luana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lipari
authors.forename: Elvira Vittoria
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Farina
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buscemi
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gerbino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D009320:Atrial Natriuretic Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D005333:Fetus / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009320:Atrial Natriuretic Factor