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Potential salivary biomarkers for Sjögren's

Research at the Department of General Dentistry at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA has focused on both biomarkers and treatment of Sjögren's.

Dr. Athena Papas and Dr. Mabi Singh, who both treat high risk patients at the Tufts Dry Mouth Clinic, were two of several researchers from the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine to partake in a multi-center research study on salivary biomarkers. The aim of this study was to determine if biomarkers that could be used for diagnosis of Sjögren's are present in saliva.

"Discovery of putative salivary biomarkers for Sjögren's Syndrome using high resolution mass spectrometry and bioinformatics," published in the Journal of Oral Science, January 2012, found a biomarker that is unique to Sjögren's. They describe this biomarker as a "proteolytic peptide originating from human basic salivary proline-rich protein 3 precursor."

The research group concluded that the salivary biomarkers which they discovered, using the methods of detection and analysis detailed in the study, have the potential of serving as diagnostic/prognostic tools for Sjögren's Syndrome. A link to the full text of this research paper is provided at the end of this article.