Hormonal Influence on Rat Submandibular-Gland Histochemistry

¹ Departments of Orthodontics and Dental Science, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine Boston, Massachusetts

It was observed that testosterone and thyroxine restored the morphology of the submandibular gland in hypophysectomized rats. Protein metabolism, as demonstrated by the localization of tryptophan and thyroxine, was severely altered after hypophysectomy and was not restored by hormone therapy. The reactions which occur after hypophysectomy were not restored by hormonal therapy. The unaltered toluidine-blue reaction noted after hypophysectomy was not comparable to results seen previously with female rats. This would tend to indicate a sex difference in protein metabolism. The tubular components of the submandibular gland were most sensitive to hypophysectomy, while the acinar cells were the most responsive to subsequent hormone treatment.