Rocchi Cecilia, Barazzuol Lara, Coppes Rob P
Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 AV, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Department of Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9700 RB, Groningen, The Netherlands.
NPJ Regen Med. 2021 Feb 1;6(1):4. doi: 10.1038/s41536-020-00115-x.
Dysfunction of the salivary gland and irreversible hyposalivation are the main side effects of radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancer leading to a drastic decrease of the quality of life of the patients. Approaches aimed at regenerating damaged salivary glands have been proposed as means to provide long-term restoration of tissue function in the affected patients. In studies to elucidate salivary gland regenerative mechanisms, more and more evidence suggests that salivary gland stem/progenitor cell behavior, like many other adult tissues, does not follow that of the hard-wired professional stem cells of the hematopoietic system. In this review, we provide evidence showing that several cell types within the salivary gland epithelium can serve as stem/progenitor-like cells. While these cell populations seem to function mostly as lineage-restricted progenitors during homeostasis, we indicate that upon damage specific plasticity mechanisms might be activated to take part in regeneration of the tissue. In light of these insights, we provide an overview of how recent developments in the adult stem cell research field are changing our thinking of the definition of salivary gland stem cells and their potential plasticity upon damage. These new perspectives may have important implications on the development of new therapeutic approaches to rescue radiation-induced hyposalivation.
唾液腺功能障碍和不可逆的唾液分泌减少是头颈癌放射治疗的主要副作用，导致患者生活质量急剧下降。旨在再生受损唾液腺的方法已被提出，作为为受影响患者提供组织功能长期恢复的手段。在阐明唾液腺再生机制的研究中，越来越多的证据表明，唾液腺干/祖细胞的行为与许多其他成年组织一样，并不遵循造血系统中固有的专业干细胞的行为。在这篇综述中，我们提供的证据表明，唾液腺上皮内的几种细胞类型可以作为干/祖样细胞。虽然这些细胞群体在稳态期间似乎主要作为谱系受限的祖细胞发挥作用，但我们指出，在受损时，特定的可塑性机制可能会被激活，以参与组织的再生。鉴于这些见解，我们概述了成体干细胞研究领域的最新进展如何改变我们对唾液腺干细胞定义及其受损时潜在可塑性的看法。这些新观点可能对开发挽救放疗引起的唾液分泌减少的新治疗方法具有重要意义。
