Structural changes in parotid gland (PG) were previously reported following ablation of thyroid gland. However, the functional alterations (especially for proteins) have not been elucidated yet. Herein, we investigated the effect of rat thyroidectomy on PG structure and protein content and studied the ability of thyroxin-supplementation to alleviate the associated structural and functional changes. Male young adult 4-month old albino rats (n = 48) were allocated equally into 4 groups (control, sham-operated, thyroidectomized, and thyroxin-supplemented). PGs were examined histologically, and their proteins expression and localization were analyzed using western blot (WB) and immunohistochemistry (IHC), respectively at 3 w and 5 w post-surgery. Functionally, PGs of thyroidectomized rats formed a newly expressed 300 KDa protein, which was confirmed to be thyroglobulin (TG) by WB and IHC, with higher expression at 5 w. TG was localized in the interstitium, within capillaries, in the cytoplasm of the intralobular ductal cells, in the secretory products within the ductal lumen, and in the cytoplasm of individual small cells at the periphery of the acini. This functional change accompanied by structural changes in PGs (presence of dark and light acinar cells, TG-like colloid material, and high periductal vasculature). Noteworthy, PG of the thyroxin-supplemented depicted vanishment of TG. From these data, it could be concluded that thyroidectomy could alter the morphology and function of the parotid that induce a thyroid-like reprogramming of the parotid to secrete TG and thyroxin supplementation could alleviate this effect.

先前曾报道消融甲状腺后腮腺（PG）的结构改变。但是，功能的改变（尤其是蛋白质）尚未阐明。本文中，我们研究了大鼠甲状腺切除术对PG结构和蛋白质含量的影响，并研究了补充甲状腺素减轻相关结构和功能变化的能力。雄性成年雄性4个月大白化病大鼠（n = 48）平均分为4组（对照组，假手术组，甲状腺切除组和甲状腺素补充组）。对PG进行组织学检查，并在术后3 w和5 w分别使用western blot（WB）和免疫组织化学（IHC）分析其蛋白的表达和定位。在功能上，经甲状腺切除的大鼠的PGs形成了新表达的300 KDa蛋白，WB和IHC证实其为甲状腺球蛋白（TG），在5 w时表达更高。TG位于间质，毛细血管内，小叶内导管细胞的细胞质中，导管腔内的分泌产物中以及在腺泡周围的单个小细胞的细胞质中。这种功能性变化伴随着PG的结构变化（存在暗光腺泡细胞，TG状胶体物质，和高位的导管周围血管）。值得注意的是，补充了甲状腺素的PG消失了TG。从这些数据可以得出结论，甲状腺切除术可以改变腮腺的形态和功能，从而引起腮腺的甲状腺样重编程以分泌TG，甲状腺素的补充可以减轻这种作用。