Localization of laminin-5, HD1/plectin, and BP230 in the submandibular glands of developing and adult mice

We studied the distributions of laminin-5 and hemidesmosome components, HD1/plectin and BP230, in the submandibular glands of adult and developing mice. In adult mice, laminin-5 was expressed in the basement membranes of both the myoepithelial cells and excretory ducts. The former expression was predictable because laminin-5 is a ligand for hemidesmosomes, which appear in myoepithelial cells and stratified epithelium. However, the latter expression pattern suggested that the non-stratified epithelium of the excretory duct might also be associated with hemidesmosomes. During fetal development, laminin-5 was found in the basement membrane of developing ducts but not epithelial end buds in which future lobules are formed by epithelial branching. The expression of HD1/plectin but not BP230 was noted in the developing duct at early embryonic stages, indicating the presence of type II hemidesmosomes. Expression of BP230 appeared in the excretory duct epithelium at around the day of birth. At this stage, the typical hemidesmosome was observed in the duct epithelium. Our results suggest that laminin-5 is involved in duct development rather than epithelial branching. The results also suggest that the developing duct epithelium interacts with laminin-5 through the type II hemidesmosome, which later matures into a typical hemidesmosome upon the onset of expression of BP230. Accepted: 12 October 1999