Soon patients may spit in a cup instead of braving a needle prick when being tested for cancer, heart disease, or diabetes. A detour in that direction is cataloging of the complete salivary proteome, a set of proteins in human ductal saliva, identified by a consortium of three research teams, according to an article in the Journal of Proteome Research.
Replacing blood draws with saliva tests may make disease diagnosis and tracking treatment efficacy less invasive and expensive.
Saliva proteomics and diagnostics is part of a nationwide effort to create the first map of every human protein and every protein interaction as they contribute to health and disease, and as they act as markers for disease states.
Following instructions encoded by genes, protein machines comprise the body’s organs and regulate its cellular processes. Defining protein pathways on a comprehensive scale helps the development of early diagnostic testing and precise drug design. Researchers want to determine the complete set of proteins secreted by the major salivary glands (parotid, submandibular. and sublingual). Recent, parallel efforts that mapped the blood (plasma) and tear proteomes enable comparisons of how proteins and potential disease markers are common or unique to different body fluids.
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, funded the current study. The saliva proteome study is a consortium effort tapping research teams at The Scripps Research Institute, University of Rochester, University of Southern California, The University of California at San Francisco, and the University of Los Angeles.
