Salivary proteome: scopes and perspectives for the diagnosis and monitoring of periodontal disease. Literature review

Abstract

Introduction: this literature review examines changes in the salivary proteome related to the presence of periodontitis that can be used for diagnosis and monitoring of the disease, this is possible because whole saliva contains a variety of local mediators derived from microbial and host responses, as well as systemic (plasma) markers that may be useful in periodontal diagnosis. Objective: to document reported changes in the salivary proteome associated with the presence of periodontitis with potential for use in the diagnosis and monitoring of the disease. Material and methods: the PubMed, SpringerLink, Google Scholar, WILEY and ScienceDirect databases were queried using the search terms "salivary proteome AND salivary diagnosis; salivary protein profile AND periodontal disease AND periodontitis" to identify publications reporting changes in the salivary protein profile of subjects diagnosed with periodontitis. Review articles, original articles published in indexed journals and consensus documents in English and Spanish were included. Results: salivary proteins such as α-amylase, cystatin-C, and mucin-5B were reported as increased by some authors, while proteins like cystatin-SN, lactoperoxidase, and mucin-7 were reported as decreased when comparing the salivary protein proteome of systemically healthy subjects with periodontitis versus subjects without periodontitis. These results confirm the existence of changes in the salivary proteome associated with the presence of periodontitis. Conclusions: the changes in the salivary proteome associated with the presence of periodontitis identified in the present literature review require further investigation because of their potential for use in the diagnosis and monitoring of periodontitis.