Trophic effect of the sympathetic nervous system on the early development of the rat parotid gland: A quantitative ultrastructural study

Rats were sympathetically denervated on one side by avulsion of the superior cervical ganglion either immediately after birth (within 4 hr) or when the salivary glands were fully developed. Nine weeks after ganglionectomy the parotid glands were subjected to microscopical studies. As shown by the lack of specific fluorescence, sympathetic denervation caused an almost total depletion of catecholamines in the acini. This was further substantiated at the electron microscopic level using KMnO⁴ as fixative. No alterations in either gland weight or in acinar cell size were noticeable after adult sympathectomy. On the other hand, neonatal denervation caused a decrease in gland weight as well as acinar cell hypotrophy. The mean volume of individual acinar cells was reduced by roughly 25% and the granule volume density by about 50%. Also the mean volume of individual granules was decreased. These findings indicate an important role for the sympathetic nerve system in the maturation of the rat parotid gland.