Effects of fractionated irradiation on the cytoskeleton and basal lamina in parotid glands--an immunohistochemical study.

Cytoskeletal, cytocontractile and basement membrane proteins were studied using the immunofluorescence technique in the parotid gland in female rats after half-side fractionated megavoltage irradiation. The non-irradiated parallel-handled parotid glands served as controls. The qualitative expression of cytoskeletal proteins remained unchanged 10 days following irradiation compared to controls, i.e. cytokeratin was observed but not vimentin, desmin or GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic proteins). Six months after irradiation the cytokeratin expression adjacent to duct lumina was clearly stronger. Actin staining was more pronounced in the periphery of the acini. Ten days after irradiation no alterations of the basal lamina proteins, laminin and fibronectin, were detected. Six months post-irradiation laminin deposits were detected in areas where the entire acini had degenerated and had been replaced by fibrosis. An increased expression of fibronectin was also observed in the stroma at that time, reflecting an increased fibrosis. In areas where the acini remained, laminin immunofluorescence was mainly found in basal laminae of normal thickness, but the mean diameter of the acini seemed to have increased. This indicates a regeneration of acini and a restructuring of the basal lamina of the parenchyma.