Sexual dimorphisms in the transcriptomes of murine salivary glands

FEBS Open Bio. 2019 May;9(5):947-958. doi: 10.1002/2211-5463.12625. Epub 2019 Mar 30.

Abstract

Transcriptional profiling identified 933 sexually dimorphic genes out of the 14 371 protein-coding genes expressed in the three major murine salivary glands: parotid, sublingual, and submandibular. Most (89%) sex-specific genes were enriched in a single gland, while only 0.5% of the sexually dimorphic genes were enriched in all glands. The sublingual gland displayed a strong male sex bias (94% of sex-enriched genes), while a sex preference was not obvious in the parotid or submandibular glands. A subset of transcription factor genes was correlated with the expression of gland-specific, sex-enriched genes. Higher expression of Cftr chloride and Scnn1 sodium channels in the male submandibular correlated with greater NaCl reabsorption. In conclusion, adult salivary glands display sex- and gland-specific differences in gene expression that reflect their unique functional properties.

Keywords: Cftr; ENaC; NaCl reabsorption; RNA-seq; salivary gland; sexual dimorphism.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Female
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Parotid Gland / metabolism*
  • Sex Characteristics
  • Sublingual Gland / metabolism*
  • Submandibular Gland / metabolism*
  • Transcriptome*