Salivary proteins and early childhood caries: A gel electrophoretic analysis

Abstract

Background:Early childhood caries (ECC) is a common disease process that afflicts a large proportion of the child population worldwide. Extensive research in past indicates that it is the result of bacterial infection, also influenced by host and dietary factors. Current caries research seeks to identify risk factors as well as natural oral defenses that may protect against or prevent caries development. Saliva, in spite of being the strongest defense system, still has a wide array of properties and proteins whose role is yet not clearly known.Aim:To compare the resting human whole salivary characteristics in children with ECC and those who are caries free. Settings and Design: The study was conducted over a period of 9 months in 4- to 6-year-old 100 children comprising two groups – 50 with ECC and 50 caries free.Materials and Methods:The whole salivary flow rate, pH, mean protein concentration, and the electrophoretic profile of salivary proteins by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) were compared among both groups.Statistical Analysis:The SPSS (version 11.0) software package was used to conduct the chi-square, Fisher's exact and Pearson's chi-square tests to compare the data.Results:On gel electrophoresis, there was a significant difference among both groups with caries-free subjects having a higher number of proline-rich protein bands, substantiating the protective role of this protein. A significantly higher number of glycoprotein bands were observed in the whole saliva of subjects with ECC. A significant inverse correlation between the mean protein concentration and the whole salivary flow rate was observed in both groups.

Salivary proteins and microbiota as biomarkers for early childhood caries risk assessment

“… 102 A report by Ribeiro et al 75 identified the molecular masses of saliva from children with and without ECC ( n =106) and concluded that the presence of proline-rich peptides (in particular, IB-4) significantly increased the chance of caries ( P =0.035). Supporting this idea, a study by Bhalla et al 99 showed that a higher number of PRP bands were observed in the saliva of subjects with ECC. The majority of studies support the correlation between elevated PRP levels and the increased incidence of ECC, thereby indicating the potential use of PRPs as predictors for the prognosis of ECC.…”

“…In school children, they observed a negative correlation between salivary MUC5B and the number of decayed teeth in mixed dentition. 99 , 100 The association between salivary mucins and dental caries may be affected by changes in the oral environment from primary to permanent dentition. There is still insufficient scientific evidence supporting the correlation between salivary mucins and ECC; thus, we cannot conclude that mucins are good indicators for predicting ECC risks.…”

Relationship of Salivary Lactoferrin and Lysozyme Concentrations with Early Childhood Caries

“…Using turbidimetric technique, Bai et al 26 found that lysozyme concentration of unstimulated saliva in ECC group was significantly higher than that of caries-free group. On the other hand, Bahhla et al 8 demonstrated that DMFT index decreased as the lysozyme concentration increased which indicates that lysozyme provides protective and antimicrobial effect, and suggests that high concentration of lysozyme inside the oral cavity should have an important role in dental caries prevention. In our study, lactoferrin concentration was higher in the caries-free group in comparison with the ECC group; however, the difference was not statistically significant.…”

“… 5 Current research is focused on the development of preventive strategies against caries and the identification of risk factors as well as natural oral defenses. 8 Saliva has an essential role in caries prevention, through functions relying on physicochemical characteristics such as flow rate, pH and buffering capacity, and therefore, variations under threshold levels are considered as risk factors for the development of dental caries. 9 Saliva contains many innate or acquired (antibodies) defense mechanisms.…”

Salivary gland diseases in children

“…It appears that the quality (protein content) rather than the quantity of saliva is important for caries prophylaxis. In a group of four- to six-year-olds, Bhalla et al showed that tooth decay was inversely proportional to the proline content, but not to the total quantity of saliva produced [ 9 ]. Medicines used for oral asthma therapy, such as β 2 -agonists and cortisone, may reduce salivation [ 10 ].…”