TGF-β1 Triggers Salivary Hypofunction via Attenuating Protein Secretion and AQP5 Expression in Human Submandibular Gland Cells

Aging-related salivary gland degeneration usually causes poor oral health. Periductal fibrosis frequently occurs in the submandibular gland of the elderly. Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) is the primary driving factor for fibrosis, which exhibits an increase in the fibrotic submandibular gland tissue. This study aimed to investigate the effects of TGF-beta 1 on the human submandibular gland (HSG) cell secretory function and its influences on aquaporin 5 (AQP5) expressions and distribution. We found that TGF-beta 1 reduces the protein secretion amount of HSG and leads to the abundance alteration of 151 secretory proteins. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with the identifier PXD043185. The majority of HSG secretory proteins (84.11%) could be matched to the human saliva proteome. Meanwhile, TGF beta 1 enhances the expression of COL4A2, COL5A1, COL7A1, COL1A1, COL2A1, and alpha-SMA, hinting that TGF-beta 1 possesses the potential to drive HSG fibrosis-related events. Besides, TGF-beta 1 also attenuates the AQP5 expression and its membrane distribution in HSGs. The percentage for TGF-beta 1-induced AQP5 reduction (52.28%) is much greater than that of the TGF-beta 1-induced secretory protein concentration reduction (16.53%). Taken together, we concluded that TGF-beta 1 triggers salivary hypofunction via attenuating protein secretion and AQP5 expression in HSGs, which may be associated with TGF-beta 1-driven fibrosis events in HSGs.