Application and evaluation of ultrasonography in early stage of sjogren' s syndrome mice / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Aim To evaluate the application of submandibular gland ultrasound in diagnosing mouse model of Sjogren' s syndrome (SS). Methods SS model was established in C57BL/6 female mice. Hie saliva volume, water intake and body weight of mice were measured on d 0, d 21, d 28 and d 35 after the first immunization respectively, then the index and pathology of submandibular gland were detected on d 35. Meanwhile, ultrasonic examination was performed on the submandibular gland on a Vevo 2100 small animal ultrasound imaging system. The correlations between the ultrasound observations and the clinic manifestations or submandibular gland histology of SS mouse were analyzed. Results The saliva secretion of SS mice began to decrease significantly on d 28 after modeling, the index of submandibular gland increased significantly on d 35, and the typical pathological changes of SS were observ ed in submandibular gland from model mice. On d 21, it was found that a marked area increment of submandibular gland in axial section of SS mouse compared with that of normal mice. More blood flow signals were detected in submandibular gland of SS mice on d 28 and d 35. Hie analysis showed an evident correlation between the results of ultrasonic observation and the conventional detection indexes. Conclusions Ultrasonography of submandibular gland is able to provide early clues and sensitive semi-quantitative indexes for e-valuating the pathological changes of SS mouse model. It is of great value in dynamically observing the process of SS and thus it is a promising approach for pharmacodynamic studies of anti-SS drugs.