VARIATIONS IN COMPOSITION OF GLYCOPROTEINS OF SUBMAXILLARY AND PAROTID SALIVA OF DOG IN RELATION TO INTENSITY OF SECRETORY STIMULUS

Variations in the content in fucose and neuraminic acid in the glycoproteins of the submaxillary saliva of the dog, dependent upon differences in the dose of pilocarpine administered to stimulate salivation, were shown to be due to variations in the proportion of two different glycoproteins or groups of glycoproteins with S20 of 19 and 11.5, respectively. The glycoprotein fraction with the lower S20 appears to be inhomogeneous and as a whole much richer in neuraminic acid and poorer in fucose than the glycoprotein produced at higher dose. The saliva of the parotid gland was shown to react differently to variations of the dose of pilocarpine insofar as with higher doses a higher ratio of neuraminic acid to hexose appears in the glycoprotein without significant change in the content of fucose. The carbohydrate moiety of the parotid glycoprotein differs significantly in its composition from that of the submaxillary saliva by its high content in mannose in addition to galactose, which sugar appears only in traces in the submaxillary saliva. © 1969.