In ophthalmia produced in rats by diets deficient in vitamine A, lacrimation is an early symptom, whereas later the secretion decreases with a drying of th6 conjunctiva. This phenomenon suggested the possibility of an involvement of the paraocular glands in this condition. A second observation that led to investigation of the glands was the fact that the lesions resulting from dietary deficienc...

Chronic sclerosing sialadenitis, also known as Kuttner tumor, is a chronic inflammatory disease of the salivary glands that is reported in a few cases in medical literature. Recent reports suggest that certain aspects of sclerosing diseases, including chronic sclerosing sialadenitis or dacryoadenitis, should be classified under immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related sclerosing disease based on immuno...

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have therapeutic potential for various diseases because of their anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties. However, the immunosuppressive microenvironment allows tumor cells to evade immune surveillance, whereas maintenance of inflammation is required for tumor development and progression. Hence, MSCs may promote or suppress tumors in a context-depende...

TUMOURS of the ethmoid, maxillary, frontal, and sphenoid air sinuses usually manifest themselves by proptosis. They may take the form of osteoma, chondroma, osteoclastoma, fibroma, myxoma, angioma, psammoma, endothelioma, carcinoma, or sarcoma (Duke-Elder, 1952). The mucous membrane of these sinuses contains not only epithelial and fibro-adenoid layers but also a layer of mucous and serous glan...

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a major complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Dry eye disease is the prominent ocular sequel of cGVHD and is caused by excessive inflammation and fibrosis in the lacrimal glands. Heavy chain-Hyaluronan/Pentraxin 3 (HC-HA/PTX3) is a complex purified from human amniotic membrane (AM) and known to exert anti-inflammatory and anti-scar...

Oxidative damage and inflammation are proposed to be involved in an age-related functional decline of exocrine glands. However, the molecular mechanism of how oxidative stress affects the secretory function of exocrine glands is unclear. We developed a novel mev-1 conditional transgenic mouse model (Tet-mev-1) using a modified tetracycline system (Tet-On/Off system). This mouse model demonstrat...

Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the exocrine glands. It characterized by lymphocytic infiltrate in lacrimal and salivary glands causing keratoconjunctivitis sicca xerostomia. Extra-glandular involvement may be present about one-third patients with primary Sjogren’s (pSS). The most commonly affected organs are thyroid, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, skin, n...

Background: Although surgical intervention is the therapeutic mainstay for epiphora secondary to nasolacrimal obstruction, offlabel injection of onabotulinumtoxinA (BTX-A) into the lacrimal gland has emerged as an effective, minimally invasive alternative. We investigated the structural and molecular changes within the lacrimal gland of the New Zealand White rabbit model, following intraglandul...

he origin of the dry eye in Sjögren's syndrome has hardly been a subject of discussion as it is assumed that lymphoplasmocytic cell infiltration of the tear gland deteriorates its function to such a degree that it causes dry eye. Several observations, however, may not support the concept that tear gland degen-eration is the only causative factor in ocular dryness in Sjögren's syndrome. Sjögren'...