SalivaPrint - A tool for patient stratification in oral health

Introduction: Saliva reflects many systemic and oral pathologies. At SalivaTec we are interested in using this fluid in diagnostics and patient stratification. Our goal in the present work was to demonstrate that total salivary protein profile determined by capillary electrophoresis (SalivaPrint) may be used to direct the search for biomarkers. Material and Methods: SalivaPrints were obtained for 26 elder individuals with periodontal disease. These profiles were compared with SalivaPrints from healthy individuals and the most representative features for separation of the two groups were selected. Results: Five molecular weight ranges of SalivaPrint seem to be important separate the individuals with periodontal disease from the healthy individuals. These molecular weight ranges (28-29, 42-43, and 77-78 kDa) have been shown to include several proteins (Rosa et al 2016). Some of these proteins are functionally related to processes deregulated in oral and systemic disease. Discussion: Proteins such as P31947 (14-3-3 protein sigma) are related to the mTor pathway involved in glucose resistance, a condition related to obesity and diabetes. This is consistent with a high prevalence of these pathologies in the individuals with periodontal disease included. Conclusion: SalivaPrint can provide information on which molecules should be used to distinguish between individuals with oral health and periodontal disease. Clinical implications: Although the diagnostics of periodontal disease through salivary markers is an interesting approach, explored by our laboratory, these results indicate that metabolic deregulations such as diabetes and obesity have to be considered if the quantification of salivary markers is to be used for diagnostics. Keywords: oral health, saliva, protein profile, periodontitis, diagnosis