Salivary gland branching morphogenesis--recent progress and future opportunities.

Salivary glands provide saliva to maintain oral health, and a loss of salivary gland function substantially decreases quality-of-life. Understanding the biological mechanisms that generate salivary glands during embryonic development may identify novel ways to regenerate function or design artificial salivary glands. This review article summarizes current research on the process of branching morphogenesis of salivary glands, which creates gland structure during development. We highlight exciting new advances and opportunities in studies of cell-cell interactions, mechanical forces, growth factors, and gene expression patterns to improve our understanding of this important process.