Expression data from the murine salivary gland (SG; submandibular gland) 8 weeks after the ovariectomy (OVX) or sham surgery (Cont)

In general, women are more susceptible to xerostomia than men. Clinical studies have indicated a noteworthy increase in the incidence of xerostomia following menopause, along with a negative correlation between saliva estrogen levels and the severity of xerostomia symptoms. Similarly, ovariectomy (OVX) in rodents not only decreases saliva secretion but also triggers pathological alterations in the SG. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression underlying OVX-mediated SG dysfuction. six-week-old female BALB/c mice (were anesthetized and either a bilateral OVX (designated as OVX group) or sham surgery (designated as Cont group) was performed as established protocol. Microarray-based transcriptomic profiling of SGs (n=3 for each group) was conducted 8 wks after the surgery.