Peptidomic changes of saliva after non-surgical treatment of stage I/II generalized periodontitis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the changes of peptidome profiles of saliva, serum, and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) before and after non-surgical periodontal treatment in patients with generalized periodontitis (stage I/II). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Saliva, serum, and GCF samples were collected from 17 patients at baseline (T(0) ), one week after ultrasonic supragingival scaling (T(1) ) and eight weeks after subgingival scaling and root planning (T(2) ). Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was carried out to detect changes in peptidomic profiles. Then, nano-liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (nano-LC/ESI-MS/MS) was performed to identify potential peptide biomarkers. RESULTS: Most of the peptides from the patients exhibited a decreasing trend from the time point of pretreatment to that of post-treatment. Cluster analysis and scatter plots using these peptides indicated that salivary peptidome has an acceptable capability of reflecting the status of stage I/II generalized periodontitis. Seven of these peptides were successfully identified as alpha-1-antitrypsin, immunoglobulin kappa variable 4-1, haptoglobin, and immunoglobulin heavy constant gamma2. CONCLUSIONS: Certain peptides in saliva, serum, and GCF were down-regulated after non-surgical periodontal treatment, demonstrating the application prospects of saliva in monitoring and surveillance of periodontal diseases in both clinical settings and communities.