Changes in saliva of epileptic patients

Abstract

Unstimulated whole saliva samples of 27 indoor epileptic patients were studied on their protein composition using biochemical and immunochemical methods. A number of salivary proteins appeared at least partially to be hydrolyzed. In a number of saliva samples the concentration of carbohydrate-containing isoenzymes of amylase was reduced. In addition, the concentration of the 20 kD glycoprotein EP-GP was reduced by 60%. Sialic acid, the terminal sugar of the glycoproteins and mucins, was released for about 50% and in three salivas even nearly completely. Moreover, sialic acid- and fucose-containing epitopes could hardly be detected by monoclonal antibodies to human salivary mucins. As a consequence of this hydrolytic breakdown the saliva mediated aggregation of two S. sanguis strains had been reduced. In contrast, the aggregation of S. oralis had been maintained.

Does Variability in Salivary Protein Concentrations Influence Oral Microbial Ecology and Oral Health?

“…The deglycosylation reported for mucins of epileptic patients likewise reduced the ability of their saliva to aggregate oral streptococci. This change was seen for strains of S. sanguis but not S. oralis (Nieuw Amerongen et al, 1992). Another study has reported that those two species may collaborate in breaking down mucin oligosaccharides (Van der Hoeven and Camp, 1991).…”

A study of the influence of mouth-breathing in some parameters of unstimulated and stimulated whole saliva of adolescents

“…The amount of free sialic acid may be used as an indicator of bacterial neuraminidase activity, a measure of bacterial degradation in saliva [24]. Neuraminidase (sialidase) is an exo-glucosidase which hydrolyses a-glycosidically bound sialic acids found as terminal constituents of glycoproteins, glycolipids and oligosaccharides in higher animals and some microorganisms [25].…”

Patterns and variability in electrophoretic polypeptide profiles of human saliva in a healthy population

“…Quantitative alterations of these proteins in the saliva have been increasingly involved in the diagnosis of oral and systemic diseases (14,21,23,28). Among a number of analytical procedures for salivary proteins, electrophoresis has become an advantageous tool given its power to resolve relatively high number of macromolecules from a small sample.…”