Su, ShanRugis, JohnWahl, AmandaDoak, SamLi, YatingSuresh, VinodYule, DavidSneyd, James2022-08-222022-08-222022-07-07(2022). Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 84(8), 84-.0092-8240https://hdl.handle.net/2292/60872Saliva is produced in two stages in the salivary glands: the secretion of primary saliva by the acinus and the modification of saliva composition to final saliva by the intercalated and striated ducts. In order to understand the saliva modification process, we develop a mathematical model for the salivary gland duct. The model utilises the realistic 3D structure of the duct reconstructed from an image stack of gland tissue. Immunostaining results show that TMEM16A and aquaporin are expressed in the intercalated duct cells and that ENaC is not. Based on this, the model predicts that the intercalated duct does not absorb Na[Formula: see text] and Cl[Formula: see text] like the striated duct but secretes a small amount of water instead. The input to the duct model is the time-dependent primary saliva generated by an acinar cell model. Our duct model produces final saliva output that agrees with the experimental measurements at various stimulation levels. It also shows realistic biological features such as duct cell volume, cellular concentrations and membrane potentials. Simplification of the model by omission of all detailed 3D structures of the duct makes a negligible difference to the final saliva output. This shows that saliva production is not sensitive to structural variation of the duct.ElectronicItems in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htmhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Salivary GlandsSalivaModels, BiologicalMathematical ConceptsAcinar Cells3D reconstructionImmunostainingIon transportersMathematical modellingSalivary glandBioengineeringDental/Oral and Craniofacial DiseaseDigestive Diseases01 Mathematical Sciences06 Biological SciencesJournal Article10.1007/s11538-022-01041-32022-07-18Copyright: The authors35799078 (pubmed)http://purl.org/eprint/accessRights/OpenAccess1522-960210.1007/s11538-022-01041-3