The effect of ageing on mucin contents in mouse submandibular glands.

There may be deleterious effects if there is an age-dependent reduction in mucin composition or content in salivary glands. To assess whether there was an effect of age in submandibular glands from male mice aged 3 months, 10 and 20 months and 27, 29 and 30 months, mucin, protein and sialic acid were quantitated. Changes in wet weight per gland and protein per gland were highly significant (p less than 0.001), as tested by analysis of variance, and the means for both were highest in middle aged glands. While sialic acid per gland showed no significant change from middle aged to old glands, mucin per gland showed an age-related decrease (p less than 0.01) when comparing either young or middle aged glands with old glands.