title: Salivary lysozyme levels in patients with primary immunodeficiencies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lysozyme is a muramidase that acts on the peptideoglycan wall of Gram positive bacteria, causing cell death. It plays part in innate immunity and is present in blood, external fluid, as well in lysossomal granules of the phagocytes. Primary Immunodeficiencies are a diverse group of illnesses that, as a result of abnormalities of the immune system, increase susceptibility to infection. Among the examples of impaired natural immunity are defects in phagocytes and in the complement system. Innate immunity could be important in protecting mucosas against infections in patients with different forms of primary immunodeficiencies. The aim of this study was to investigate lysozyme concentrations in saliva from patients with primary immunodeficiencies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Lysozyme levels in saliva samples from 34 patients with primary immunodeficiency (30 children and adolescents between the age of 3-13 years and 4 adults between the age of 20-33) and 60 age-matched healthy controls (49 children and adolescents between the ages of 3-15 and 11 adults between the ages of 22-42) were determined by the lysoplate method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no statistically significant difference between the lysozyme concentrations in the saliva of the immunodeficient subjects and those of the healthy controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results in the present work clearly show that salivary lysozyme levels in primary immunodeficient patients are equivalent to those found in healthy controls, suggesting that this enzyme still represents a remaining (but not a compensatory mechanism), contributing to the protection of there patients against infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prod. Lineu Prestes 1730, CEP 05508-900 Cidade Univesitária, São Paulo SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kmiliauskis
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Palmeira
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arslanian
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Pontes
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Costa-Carvalho
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Jacob
authors.forename: M M S
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Carneiro-Sampaio
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D009113:Muramidase / Q000032:analysis*; D012463:Saliva / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000276:immunology; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides; D009113:Muramidase