Department of Pathology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Early Hum Dev. 2011 Dec;87(12):779-83. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2011.06.001. Epub 2011 Jul 6.
Thymosin beta 10 (Tβ10) is a member of beta-thymosins (Tβs), a family of low molecular mass peptides abundant in many cell types. In previous studies, Tβs have been shown to play essential roles in many cellular functions, including cytokinesis, migration and endocytosis. Recently, Tβ10 has been found in high quantities in the saliva of human newborns, while it disappeared in the adults. On the basis of these data, it seemed of some interest to study the influence of Tβ10 during the development of the human salivary glands. To this end, we analyzed, using immunocytochemistry, the expression of Tβ10 in samples of the major and minor salivary glands obtained, at autopsy, from 2 human fetuses and 4 newborns, ranging from 13 up to 33weeks of gestation. Tβ10 immunoreactivity was detected in all salivary glands examined, with marked differences from one gland to the next, the parotid glands showing the highest Tβ10 reactivity and minor salivary glands the lowest reactivity. Marked changes were observed in Tβ10 expression and localization during embryogenesis. Tβ10 was mainly localized extracellularly in the youngest human fetuses (13weeks), in the cytoplasm of immature duct cells at 20weeks, in acinar cells and in the duct lumen in 33weeks old fetuses. Our data show, for the first time, a strong expression of Tβ10 in the human salivary glands during the initial phases of the physiological development, present at the 13th week of gestation, and suggesting a role for the peptide in the salivary glands' organogenesis.
胸腺素β10（Tβ10）是β-胸腺素（Tβs）家族的一员，该家族是许多细胞类型中丰富的低分子量肽。在以前的研究中，Tβs 已被证明在许多细胞功能中发挥着重要作用，包括细胞分裂、迁移和内吞作用。最近，Tβ10 在人类新生儿的唾液中大量发现，而在成年人中则消失了。基于这些数据，研究 Tβ10 在人类唾液腺发育过程中的影响似乎具有一定的意义。为此，我们使用免疫细胞化学分析，研究了从 2 例胎儿和 4 例新生儿（从 13 周到 33 周）获得的主要和次要唾液腺样本中 Tβ10 的表达情况。在所有检查的唾液腺中都检测到 Tβ10 免疫反应性，但各腺体之间存在明显差异，腮腺的 Tβ10 反应性最高，而小唾液腺的反应性最低。在胚胎发生过程中观察到 Tβ10 表达和定位的显著变化。Tβ10 主要在最年轻的人类胎儿（13 周）中定位于细胞外，在 20 周时定位于未成熟导管细胞的细胞质中，在 33 周的胎儿中定位于腺泡细胞和导管腔中。我们的数据首次显示 Tβ10 在人类唾液腺中强烈表达，在妊娠第 13 周时就存在，表明该肽在唾液腺发生中的作用。
