A COMPARISON BETWEEN CHANGES IN RAT PAROTID PROTEIN COMPOSITION 1 AND 12 WEEKS FOLLOWING SURGICAL SYMPATHECTOMY

¹ Department of Oral Pathology, King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, London and Institute of Physiology and Biophysics, Lund, Sweden

One week after surgical sympathectomy the amylase and protein concentrations of parotid glands were increased by 250 and 51% respectively. Whilst these concentration changes had partly returned to normal after 12 weeks, major differences still remained in the protein composition of parotid glands. Anion-exchahge chromatography showed that proline-rich pr6teins were progressively reduced and that the relative proportions of other proteins changed variably. These results indicate that normal synthesis of proline-rich proteins requires on-going stimulation of the cells via the sympathetic nerve. In the absence of sympathetic nerve activity there was initially an increased synthesis of amylase which theh returned towards normal.