Application of Developmental Principles for Functional Regeneration of Salivary Glands

Currently, there has been rapid increase in the studies about salivary production because of the hyposalivation, xerostomia, caused by radiotherapy for head and neck cancer, Sjogren syndrome and aging. An overview of anatomy and development of salivary gland is crucial to understand about the patho-physiological disorders related with saliva. For study of the morphogenesis and development of salivary glands, experiment using rodent models is widely necessary. This review wraps up the early to latest studies the different features of each salivary gland, morphogenesis of developing salivary glands, and the comparison of human and rodent salivary glands. The goal of this review is to provide hypothesis for the further researches about differentiation of specific acinar cells, from which it is determined to be specific acini. Additionally, we discuss approaches to regenerate the function of salivary glands using environmental factor, time dependent factor and nerve factor.