Parasympathetic and sympathetic regulation of secretion from submucosal glands in airways

Abstract

We developed methods to study secretions from airway submucosal glands in vivo: micropipettes with tips specially designed to seal around individual gland duct openings allowed us to collect all of the fluid secreted from individual glands. We visualized the secretions from large numbers of glands simultaneously by coating the airway surface with powdered tantalum; secreted mucus formed "hillocks" over each gland duct opening. Measurement of hillock size provided an estimate of secretion rate. We modified the "hillocks" method to study tracheal glands in vitro. To study regulation of mucin secretion in vitro, we measured the radioactivity from 35S bound to mucins secreted from the luminal surface of pieces of trachea mounted in Using-type chambers. Using these techniques, we demonstrated both cholinergic and alpha-adrenergic regulation of the glands.