Sulfatides and arylsulfatase A activity in major salivary glands of hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) after adenocarcinoma induction in oral cavity.

A biochemical study of sulfatides and arylsulfatase A (ASA) was carried out in the submandibular and sublingual glands of the male and female hamster Mesocricetus auratus after experimental induction of oral adenocarcinoma by 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA). Hamster experimental groups included control animals, animals treated with beta-carotene, animals treated with DMBA, and animals treated with DMBA plus beta-carotene. Oral cavity treatment with DMBA induced carcinogenesis in the buccal mucosa, but not in the major salivary glands, where nevertheless, the morphology and expression of both parameters examined changed. In fact, sulfatide concentrations and enzyme activity increased significantly, while in control and beta-carotene-treated hamsters they were similar in both glands and sexes. After administration of DMBA plus beta-carotene, sulfatide concentration decreased, as did ASA activity, slightly in the submandibular gland and remarkably so in the sublingual one of female hamsters. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) analysis of lipid patterns, after DMBA treatment, revealed considerable differences, not only in sulfatides, but also in other lipid fractions, as well as between the two glands and two sexes. These findings show that oral cavity treatment with DMBA is not able to induce carcinogenesis in the major salivary glands examined; however, it does cause considerable metabolic changes.