Salivary beta 2-microglobulin in NZB/WF1 mice.

Unstimulated parotid and submandibular/sublingual saliva from New Zealand black/WF1 (NZB/WF1) mice as collected by microcapillary (1 microliter), and the content of beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2-MG) determined by a sandwich enzyme immunoassay. Salivary beta 2-MG contents of control C57BL/6 and NZB/WF1 mice (45 weeks of age) were 0.68 +/- 0.18 micrograms/ml and 1.42 +/- 0.21 micrograms/ml (mean +/- SD), respectively, from the parotid gland and 0.62 +/- 0.17 micrograms/ml and 1.34 +/- 0.21 microliters/ml, respectively, from the submandibular sublingual glands. However, the concentration of beta 2-MG was not increased in the NZB/WF1 mice at 5 and 20 weeks of age. Saliva from NZB/WF1 mice (45 weeks old) was fractionated by micro two-dimensional gel electrophoresis; it exhibited both qualitative and quantitative changes in protein composition in comparison to the two-dimensional at 5 weeks of age. These observations parallel those in saliva from patients with Sjögren's syndrome.