Sialochemistry; A Diagnostic Tool
of 97%.
Significantly lower levels of lactoferrin, were found in resting saliva of children with chronic protein-energy malnutrition. Non- insulin dependent diabetics were shown to have increased levels of lactoferrin. Lactoferrin content was also increased in parotid saliva of irradiated patients.29
Parotid and submandibular gland secretions collected from patients with rheumatoid arthritis or systemic sclerosis have been analysed and the results compared with healthy individuals. Saliva samples assayed for amylase, kallikrein, protein, and salivary IgA concentration. The results showed that only patients with rheumatoid arthritis had a reduced salivary flow, especially parotid flow, with a significantly increased concentration of salivary IgA in both parotid and submandibular saliva. Patients with systemic sclerosis did not show significantly altered salivary flow rates, but there was a marked depletion of salivary IgA.30
Saliva may also be used for determining immunization and detecting infection with measles, mumps, and rubella. The detection of antibodies in oral fluid samples produced sensitivity and specificity of 97% and 100% for measles, 94% and94% for mumps, and 98% and 98% for rubella, respectively, in comparison with detection of serum antibodies for these viruses investigators suggested that reactivation of herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) is involved in the pathogenesis of Bell’s palsy and reported that PCR-based identification of virus in saliva is a useful method for the early detection of HSV-1 reactivation in patients with Bell’s palsy. The shed HSV-1 virus was detected in 50% of patients with Bell’s palsy.
Acute hepatitis A (HAV) and hepatitis B (HBV) were diagnosed based on the presence of IgM antibodies in saliva. Analysis of oral fluid samples collected with Orasure® provided an excellent method for the diagnosis of viral hepatitis B and C. Sensitivity and specificity of 100% for the detection of antibodies for both diseases in oral fluid in comparison with serum antibodies were reported. Sialochemistry has also been used for screening for hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg) in epidemiological studies.31
Saliva can be used for the detection of oral candidiasis, and salivary fungal counts may reflect mucosal colonization. Saliva may also be used for the monitoring of oral bacteria. Bacteria (including anaerobic species) can survive in saliva, and can utilize salivary constituents as a growth medium. Increased numbers of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli in saliva were associated with increased caries prevalence and with the presence of root caries . Saliva can serve as a vector for bacterial transmission, and also as a reservoir for bacterial colonization. Detection of certain bacterial species in saliva can reflect their presence in dental plaque and periodontal pockets. Antibodies against viruses and viral components can be detected in saliva and can aid in the diagnosis of acute viral infections, congenital infections, and reactivation of infection .
High-impact diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disease, are challenging to diagnose without supplementing clinical evaluation with laboratory testing. Even with laboratory tools, definitive diagnosis often remains elusive. The Oral Fluid NanoSensor Test (OFNASET) technology platform combines cutting-edge technologies, such as self-assembled monolayers (SAM), bionanotechnology, cyclic enzymatic amplification, and microfluidics, with several well-established techniques including microinjection molding, hybridization-based detection, and molecular purification. The use of the OFNASET helps multiplex detection of salivary biomarkers for oral cancer.32
A nanoparticle that signals when cells are undergoing apoptosis triggered by cancer therapies. The new nanoparticles could finally provide oncologists with a rapid assay that could tell them that a given therapy is working.
c-erbB, also known as Her2/neu is a prognostic breast cancer marker which is overexpressed in malignant breast tumors detected in serum. A study done to determine the c-erbB marker in saliva was found to be more reliable which initiated the opportunity for the use of salivary c-erbB as a diagnostic media for detection of carcinomas33 .
The UCLA laboratory recently discovered that discriminatory and diagnostic human mRNAs are present in the saliva ofhealthy people and people with disease. The salivary transcriptome offers an additional valuable resource for disease diagnostics. The first report of the salivary transcriptome demonstrated that the normal salivary transcriptome consists of about 3,000 mRNAs. Of particular importance is that of the 3,000 mRNAs, 180 are common between healthy subjects, constituting the normal salivary transcriptome core (NSTC). To demonstrate the diagnostic and translational potential of the salivary transcriptome, the