Canine Salivary Glands: Analysis of Rab and SNARE Protein Expression and SNARE Complex Formation With Diverse Tissue Properties

The comparative structure and expression of salivary components and vesicular transport proteins in the canine major salivary glands were investigated. Histochemical analysis revealed that the morphology of the five major salivary glands—parotid, submandibular, polystomatic sublingual, monostomatic sublingual, and zygomatic glands—was greatly diverse. Immunoblot analysis revealed that expression levels of α-amylase and antimicrobial proteins, such as lysozyme, lactoperoxidase, and lactoferrin, differed among the different glands. Similarly, Rab proteins (Rab3d, Rab11a, Rab11b, Rab27a, and Rab27b) and soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins VAMP4, VAMP8, syntaxin-2, syntaxin-3, syntaxin-4, and syntaxin-6 were expressed at various levels in individual glands. mmunohistochemistry of Rab3d, Rab11b, Rab27b, VAMP4, VAMP8, syntaxin-4, and syntaxin-6 revealed their predominant expression in serous acinar cells, demilunes, and ductal cells. The VAMP4/syntaxin-6 SNARE complex, which is thought to be involved in the maturation of secretory granules in the Golgi field, was found more predominantly in the monostomatic sublingual gland than in the parotid gland. These results suggest that protein expression profiles in canine salivary glands differ among individual glands and reflect the properties of their specialized functions.