Bergamini Stefania, Bellei Elisa, Selleri Valentina, Salvatori Roberta, Micheloni Giulia, Nasi Milena, Pinti Marcello, Bertoldi Carlo
Department of Surgical, Medical, Dental and Morphological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
Int J Dent. 2025 Aug 6;2025:6655743. doi: 10.1155/ijod/6655743. eCollection 2025.
Periodontitis (Pd) is a prevalent chronic inflammatory disease of the periodontium, leading to progressive destruction of tooth-supporting tissues. Early diagnosis is crucial to prevent disease progression and improve therapeutic outcomes. Saliva has emerged as a promising diagnostic fluid due to its noninvasive collection and potential for biomarker discovery. This study employs proteomic analysis to identify salivary biomarkers associated with Pd and to evaluate the impact of nonsurgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) on the salivary proteome. Comparative proteomic analysis was performed on saliva samples from periodontally healthy individuals (G1 group) and patients with advanced Pd (G2 group). For G2 patients, samples were collected both before and after NSPT. Mass spectrometry (MS) was used to identify differentially expressed proteins. Additionally, cell-free mitochondrial DNA (cf-mtDNA) was quantified as a marker of tissue damage and endogenous inflammation, and bacterial DNA as an indicator of microbial burden, to better characterize the inflammatory microenvironment. Proteomic profiling identified 66 salivary proteins differentially expressed in Pd patients at baseline compared to healthy controls, mainly associated with inflammation, immune response, oxidative stress, and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation. These proteins significantly decreased following NSPT, correlating with improved clinical periodontal parameters. Notably, cf-mtDNA was elevated in Pd patients and decreased after treatment, mirroring the changes observed in bacterial DNA. Salivary proteome analysis revealed a distinct disease-associated protein signature in G2 group, supporting its potential as a noninvasive tool for diagnosis and monitoring of Pd patients. The post-NSPT shifts in protein expression further highlight the effectiveness of periodontal therapy in modulating inflammatory biomarkers. Future studies on larger cohorts are needed to validate these findings and advance saliva-based proteomics toward personalized periodontal care.
牙周炎（Pd）是一种常见的牙周慢性炎症性疾病，会导致牙齿支持组织的渐进性破坏。早期诊断对于预防疾病进展和改善治疗效果至关重要。由于唾液采集无创且具有发现生物标志物的潜力，它已成为一种有前景的诊断液体。本研究采用蛋白质组学分析来鉴定与牙周炎相关的唾液生物标志物，并评估非手术牙周治疗（NSPT）对唾液蛋白质组的影响。对牙周健康个体（G1组）和晚期牙周炎患者（G2组）的唾液样本进行了比较蛋白质组分析。对于G2组患者，在NSPT前后均采集了样本。使用质谱（MS）来鉴定差异表达的蛋白质。此外，对无细胞线粒体DNA（cf-mtDNA）进行定量，作为组织损伤和内源性炎症的标志物，对细菌DNA进行定量，作为微生物负荷的指标，以更好地表征炎症微环境。蛋白质组分析确定，与健康对照相比，牙周炎患者基线时66种唾液蛋白差异表达，主要与炎症、免疫反应、氧化应激和细胞外基质（ECM）降解相关。这些蛋白质在NSPT后显著减少，与改善的临床牙周参数相关。值得注意的是，cf-mtDNA在牙周炎患者中升高，治疗后降低，与细菌DNA的变化情况一致。唾液蛋白质组分析揭示了G2组中一种独特的与疾病相关的蛋白质特征，支持其作为牙周炎患者诊断和监测的无创工具的潜力。NSPT后蛋白质表达的变化进一步突出了牙周治疗在调节炎症生物标志物方面的有效性。需要对更大的队列进行进一步研究以验证这些发现，并推动基于唾液的蛋白质组学朝着个性化牙周护理发展。
