Danya Ali
Research Mentor: Juliana Amorim dos Santos
Mentor Department: Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics, Dentistry
Author(s): Danya Ali, Blanca Estela Bermudez, Iva Vesela, Juliana Amorim, Isabelle Lombaert
Session: Session 4 (1:00 PM – 1:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 13
Abstract
Head and neck cancer patients frequently experience declines in oral health and quality of life due to radiation therapy. While radiation effectively targets tumors, it also damages nearby healthy tissues, including the salivary glands. Injury to these glands often leads to salivary dysfunction and xerostomia (dry mouth), which negatively impact oral health and overall well-being. Current literature shows that radiation disrupts autonomic innervation in the salivary glands, decreasing parasympathetic and increasing sympathetic nerve fibers. Recent work from our laboratory identified trigeminal somatosensory fibers within salivary glands for the first time. However, the somatosensory system, responsible for detecting stimuli such as pain, pressure, temperature, and pH, remains poorly understood following radiation injury. This study investigates radiation-induced changes in somatosensory innervation in salivary glands. Using in vivo transgenic mouse models, the somatosensory marker Scn10a was engineered to express the reporter protein GFP. Animals received a single 15 Gy radiation dose to the neck region using a well-established protocol that models clinical exposure. Following radiation, submandibular glands, Wharton’s ducts, and trigeminal ganglia were collected from irradiated and control animals at 30, 60, and 130 days post-radiation. Fluorescent staining was performed to characterize the neural network using GFP for Scn10a? somatosensory nerves, TH for sympathetic nerves, and GFRa2 for parasympathetic nerves. Images were acquired using a Nikon A1R confocal microscope, and trigeminal ganglia were cryopreserved for future RNA-seq analyses. Initial analyses focused on quantifying GFP? somatosensory fibers and determining their proportion relative to total innervation in control glands. We hypothesize that radiation reduces somatosensory fiber density in salivary glands and ducts compared to controls. Understanding these changes may reveal mechanisms underlying radiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction and help guide strategies to restore gland function and improve patient quality of life.
