Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41686279›Full record

ArticleCell and tissue research2026

Neuronal nitric oxide synthase expression in secretory cells of the human parotid and submandibular salivary glands: evidence from light and electron microscopy.

Michela Isola, Marianna Boi, Roberto Demontis, Raffaella Isola, Francesco Loy, Cristina Maxia, Daniela Murtas, Maria Pina Serra, Jörgen Ekström, Marina Quartu

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Article in Cell and tissue research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Michela IsolaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Cytomorphology, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria Di Monserrato, 09042, Monserrato, CA, Italy.
Marianna BoiDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Cytomorphology, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria Di Monserrato, 09042, Monserrato, CA, Italy.
Roberto DemontisDepartment of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Legal Medicine Division ARNAS Brotzu, Cagliari, Italy.
Raffaella IsolaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Cytomorphology, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria Di Monserrato, 09042, Monserrato, CA, Italy.
Francesco LoyDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Cytomorphology, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria Di Monserrato, 09042, Monserrato, CA, Italy.
Cristina MaxiaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Cytomorphology, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria Di Monserrato, 09042, Monserrato, CA, Italy.
Daniela MurtasDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Cytomorphology, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria Di Monserrato, 09042, Monserrato, CA, Italy.
Maria Pina SerraDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Cytomorphology, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria Di Monserrato, 09042, Monserrato, CA, Italy.
Jörgen EkströmDepartment of Pharmacology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 13, Box 431, 405 30, Göteborg, Sweden.
Marina QuartuDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Section of Cytomorphology, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria Di Monserrato, 09042, Monserrato, CA, Italy. quartu@unica.it.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Nitric oxide plays a crucial role in multiple physiological processes in salivary glands, yet its precise cellular sources in human glandular tissues remain insufficiently characterized. This study investigated the distribution and subcellular localization of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in human parotid and submandibular gland tissue samples obtained from surgical biopsies and autopsies, using both light and electron-microscope immunohistochemistry. In both gland types, nNOS was consistently observed in serous secretory cells and the ductal epithelium, whereas mucous cells showed no immunoreactivity. Ductal cell staining was heterogeneous, with some cells displaying intense labeling and others remaining unstained. Nerve fibers containing the enzyme were rare within the gland parenchyma. Ultrastructural analysis revealed the enzyme within secretory granules and small cytoplasmic vesicles of serous cells, as well as in the apical and basal cytoplasm, mitochondria, and nuclei of ductal epithelial cells. These findings provide the first ultrastructural evidence of nNOS in secretory and ductal cells of human major salivary glands. The selective localization in serous cells, absence in mucous cells, and limited nitrergic innervation suggest a substantial parenchymal contribution to nitric oxide production. This distribution indicates that nitric oxide regulates saliva formation, composition, and intracellular signaling and could play a broader role in oral physiology and disease.

Indexed as

Nitric Oxide Synthase Type IParotid GlandSubmandibular GlandAdultAgedFemaleHumansImmunohistochemistryMaleMiddle AgedNitric Oxide Synthase Type IImmunohistochemistryNeuronal Nitric oxide synthaseSalivary glandsSecretory vesiclesSerous acini

Identifiers

PMID41686279
PMCPMC12904907

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.