The Blood-Salivary Barrier as a Multifaceted System: a Review

The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive description of the blood-salivary barrier and systematize the result of recent studies on its structure and function in healthy and diseased states. The blood-salivary barrier (BSB) is considered a multifaceted system, which includes following key components: the salivary glands, oral epithelium, intercellular junction proteins that maintain barrier strength, and also saliva and mucus. The barrier’s blood supply, neural connections, local immune responses, and the oral microbiome create the microenviroment, in which BSB operates. The BSB requires consideration of a number of additional variables, including innervation, blood supply, the presence of circulating metabolites in the vessels supplying the oral epithelium and salivary glands, as well as the volume of secreted saliva and its rheological properties, the composition of the oral microbiome, and the state of the immune system.