Transient appearance of substance P-like immunoreactivity in the granular convoluted tubules of the male mouse submandibular gland: light- and electron-microscopic studies

The time of appearance and distribution of substance P (SP)-like immunoreactivity in the granular convoluted tubule cells of the developing male mouse submandibular glands were examined, and the subcellular localization of SP-like immunoreactivity was investiagted by electron microscopy. At 25 days of age, SP-like immunoreactivity was first detected in the supranuclear cytoplasm of the granular convoluted tubule cells, which occurred either singly or in small clusters. At 30 and 35 days of age, granular convoluted tubule cells with SP-like immunoreactivity were more numerous than in the earlier stages, as the volume ratio of the cells increased. Not all granular convoluted tubule cells demonstrated SP-like immunoreactivity. The number of cells with SP-like immunoreactivity decreased at 60 days of age, and these cells had completely disappeared at 90 days of age. Most, but not all, secretory granules in the granular convoluted tubule cells were strongly labeled with gold particles, indicating that the subcellular site of SP-like substance is in the secretory granules within the cells. The findings suggest that the physiological role of the SP-like substance secreted from the GCT cells is restricted to the early postnatal stages, and that it may be involved in the development of the oral mucosa or digestive tract as a trophic factor.