Salivary glands are exocrine glands that secrete saliva into the oral cavity, and secreted saliva plays essential roles in oral health. Therefore, maintaining the salivary glands in an intact state is required for proper production and secretion of saliva. To investigate a specific signaling pathway that might affect the maintenance of mouse submandibular gland (SMGs), RNA sequencing was performed. In SMGs, downregulated expression patterns of Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) signaling pathway-related genes, including Rhoa, Rhob, Rhoc, Rock1, and Rock2, were observed. Gene expression profiling analyses of these genes indicate that the ROCK signaling pathway is a potential signal for SMG maintenance.

Introduction
Materials and Methods
    1. Animals
    2. Isolation of mouse SMGs
    3. Primary isolation and culture of mouse skinfibroblasts
    4. RNA extraction
    5. RNA-seq expression profiling and analysis
Results
    1. Downregulated expression patterns of ROCKsignaling pathway-related genes in the SMGs
Discussion
References

• Ki-Chul Kim(Cellular Reprogramming and Embryo Biotechnology Laboratory, Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University School of Dentistry)
• Sangho Roh(Cellular Reprogramming and Embryo Biotechnology Laboratory, Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University School of Dentistry) Correspondence to