title: Biotechnological implications of the salivary proteome.
abstract: Although very attractive for noninvasive specimen collection, saliva has not yet been considered a relevant bodily fluid for the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases. The functional roles of specific salivary peptides and proteins have also not yet been studied in detail. Recent proteomic analysis of human whole saliva has shown that salivary biomarkers could contribute to the detection of local and systemic diseases, provided the standardization of proper sampling procedures exists. Recently, interesting and novel functions for different families of specific secretory peptides and proteins have been demonstrated, which could be a basis for the design of peptidomimetics with relevant biotechnological applications. In this review, we focus on the most recent advances in analysing salivary proteins and their potential application in biotechnology.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biochimica e di Biochimica Clinica, Università Cattolica, 00168 Roma, Italy. massimo.castagnola@icrm.cnr.it
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castagnola
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cabras
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vitali
authors.forename: Maria Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Sanna
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Messana
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020543:Proteome / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020543:Proteome; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides