image: Doctors may one day be able to diagnose age-related diseases in women using samples of their saliva. view more
Credit: American Chemical Society
In a step toward using human saliva to tell whether those stiff joints, memory lapses, and other telltale signs of aging are normal or red flags for disease, scientists are describing how the protein content of women's saliva change with advancing age. The discovery could lead to a simple, noninvasive test for better diagnosing and treating certain age-related diseases in women, they suggest in a report in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research, a monthly publication. These diseases include lupus, Sjögrens syndrome (associated with dry mouth and dry eye), and other immune-related disorders that affect millions of women worldwide, often at higher rates than in men.
John Yates and colleagues note that human saliva contains many different proteins involved in digestion, disease fighting, and other functions. Scientists are seeking ways to use the proteins as molecular "fingerprints" to develop quick diagnostic tests that provide an alternative to the needle sticks currently needed for blood tests. To do that, they need detailed information on how normal aging affects these proteins.
The scientists analyzed saliva proteins in healthy women aged 20-30 and 55-65. They identified 293 proteins differed between the two age groups. Most were involved in the immune system's defenses against infection. Older women had almost twice as many immune-related proteins than younger women. The results suggest that "it is critical to take into consideration these normal differences in protein expression when searching for clinically relevant, disease specific biomarkers," the article notes.
ARTICLE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Quantitative Analysis of Age Specific Variation in the Abundance of Human Female Parotid Salivary Proteins"
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http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/pr900478h
CONTACT:
John Yates, Ph.D.
Department of Chemical Physiology
The Scripps Research Institute
La Jolla, Calif. 92037
Phone: 858-784-8862
Fax: 858-784-8883
Email: jyates@scripps.edu
or
Lana Mossberger
lanaj@scripps.edu
Phone: 858-784-8863
Fax: 858-784-8883
Journal
Journal of Proteome Research