Bioengineering and Cell-derived Strategies for Salivary Gland Regeneration

This thesis examined the potential of stem cell-derived therapy for two major salivary gland diseases which are acute irradiated salivary gland dysfunction and chronic immune-related salivary gland hypofunction (Paper I & III). As a result of the development and implementation of precision-cut salivary gland slices (PCSS), a bioengineered model was built in Paper II to model disease and evaluate salivary gland regeneration. Furthermore, this thesis aimed to extend the application of sustainable histology, without the use of xylene and semi-quantitative histological scoring system (Paper IV), as well as a more environmentally friendly light sheet fluorescence microscopy approach using ethyl cinnamate as the organic solvent, for future application to salivary gland research.

This thesis work has developed a new toolbox for in vitro and in vivo experiments as well as state-of-the-art methodology for a better understanding of the diseases and disease mechanisms that can affect salivary glands as well as evaluation of new therapies.