Proteomic analysis of human saliva: An approach to find the marker protein for ovulation

Ectopic pregnancy: search for biomarker in salivary proteome

Ectopic pregnancy (EP) is associated with high maternal morbidity and mortality. Ultrasonography is the only dependable diagnostic tool for confirming an ectopic pregnancy. In view of inadequate early detection methods, women suffer from a high-life risk due to the severity of EP. Early detection of EP using pathological/molecular markers will possibly improve clinical diagnosis and patient management. Salivary proteins contain potential biomarkers for diagnosing and detecting various physiological and/or pathological conditions. Therefore, the present investigation was designed to explore the salivary proteome with special reference to EP. Gel-based protein separation was performed on saliva, followed by identification of proteins using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Totally, 326 proteins were identified in the salivary samples, among which 101 were found to be specific for ruptured ectopic pregnancy (EPR). Reactome analysis revealed innate immune system, neutrophil degranulation, cell surface interactions at the vascular wall, and FCERI-mediated NF-kB activation as the major pathways to which the salivary proteins identified during EPR are associated. Glutathione-S-transferase omega-1 (GSTO1) is specific for EPR and has been reported as a candidate biomarker in the serum of EPR patients. Therefore, saliva would be a potential source of diagnostic non-invasive protein biomarker(s) for EP. Intensive investigation on the salivary proteins specific to EP can potentially lead to setting up of a panel of candidate biomarkers and developing a non-invasive protein-based diagnostic kit.

Potential biomarkers to predict return to fertility after discontinuation of female contraceptives-looking to the future

Nowadays there are multiple types of contraceptive methods, from reversible to permanent, for those choosing to delay pregnancy. Misconceptions about contraception and infertility are a key factor for discontinuation or the uptake of family planning methods. Regaining fertility (the ability to conceive) after contraceptive discontinuation is therefore pivotal. Technical studies to date have evaluated return to fertility by assessing pregnancy as an outcome, with variable results, or return to ovulation as a surrogate measure by assessing hormone levels (such as progesterone, LH, FSH) with or without transvaginal ultrasound. In general, relying on time to pregnancy as an indicator of return to fertility following contraceptive method discontinuation can be problematic due to variable factors independent of contraceptive effects on fertility, hormone clearance, and fertility recovery. Since the ability to conceive after contraceptive method discontinuation is a critical factor influencing product uptake, it is important to have robust biomarkers that easily and accurately predict the timing of fertility return following contraception and isolate that recovery from extrinsic and circumstantial factors. The main aim of this review is to summarize the current approaches, existing knowledge, and gaps in methods of evaluating return-to-fertility as well as to provide insights into the potential of new biomarkers to more accurately predict fertility restoration after contraceptive discontinuation. Biomarker candidates proposed in this document include those associated with folliculogenesis, cumulus cell expansion, follicular rupture and ovulation, and endometrial transport and receptivity which have been selected and scored on predefined criteria meant to evaluate their probable viability for advancement. The review also describes limitations, regulatory requirements, and a potential path to clinically testing these selected biomarkers. It is important to understand fertility restoration after contraceptive method discontinuation to provide users and health providers with accurate evidence-based information. Predictive biomarkers, if easy and low-cost, have the potential to enable robust evaluation of RTF, and provide potential users the information they desire when selecting a contraceptive method. This could lead to expanded uptake and continuation of modern contraception and inform the development of new contraceptive methods to widen user's family planning choices.

Untangling Mucosal Drug Delivery: Engineering, Designing, and Testing Nanoparticles to Overcome the Mucus Barrier

Mucus is a complex viscoelastic gel and acts as a barrier covering much of the soft tissue in the human body. High vascularization and accessibility have motivated drug delivery to various mucosal surfaces; however, these benefits are hindered by the mucus layer. To overcome the mucus barrier, many nanomedicines have been developed, with the goal of improving the efficacy and bioavailability of drug payloads. Two major nanoparticle-based strategies have emerged to facilitate mucosal drug delivery, namely, mucoadhesion and mucopenetration. Generally, mucoadhesive nanoparticles promote interactions with mucus for immobilization and sustained drug release, whereas mucopenetrating nanoparticles diffuse through the mucus and enhance drug uptake. The choice of strategy depends on many factors pertaining to the structural and compositional characteristics of the target mucus and mucosa. While there have been promising results in preclinical studies, mucus-nanoparticle interactions remain poorly understood, thus limiting effective clinical translation. This article reviews nanomedicines designed with mucoadhesive or mucopenetrating properties for mucosal delivery, explores the influence of site-dependent physiological variation among mucosal surfaces on efficacy, transport, and bioavailability, and discusses the techniques and models used to investigate mucus-nanoparticle interactions. The effects of non-homeostatic perturbations on protein corona formation, mucus composition, and nanoparticle performance are discussed in the context of mucosal delivery. The complexity of the mucosal barrier necessitates consideration of the interplay between nanoparticle design, tissue-specific differences in mucus structure and composition, and homeostatic or disease-related changes to the mucus barrier to develop effective nanomedicines for mucosal delivery.

The Exoproteome of Staphylococcus pasteuri Isolated from Cervical Mucus during the Estrus Phase in Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

Bacterial extracellular proteins participate in the host cell communication by virtue of the modulation of pathogenicity, commensalism and mutualism. Studies on the microbiome of cervical mucus of the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) have shown the occurrence of Staphylococcus pasteuri and that the presence of this bacterium is indicative of various physiological and reproductive states in the host. Recently, S. pasteuri has been isolated from the cervical mucus of the buffalo during the different phases of estrous cycle, and has proved to be much more pronounced during the estrus phase. The basis underlying the availability of a significantly increased S. pasteuri population, specifically during the estrus phase, is not known. Consequently, it is important to determine the significance of the specific abundance of S. pasteuri during the estrus phase of the buffalo host, particularly from the perspective of whether this bacterial species is capable of contributing to sexual communication via its extracellular proteins and volatiles. Therefore, the relevance of S. pasteuri exoproteome in the buffalo cervical mucus during the estrus phase was analyzed using LC-MS/MS. As many as 219 proteins were identified, among which elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu), 60-kDa chaperonin (Cpn60), enolase, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase class 1 (FBP aldolase), enoyl-[acyl-carrier-protein] reductase [NADPH] (ENR) and lipoprotein (Lpp) were the functionally important candidates. Most of the proteins present in the exoproteome of S. pasteuri were those involved in cellular–metabolic functions, as well as catalytic- and binding activities. Moreover, computational studies of Lpp have shown enhanced interaction with volatiles such as acetic-, butanoic-, isovaleric- and valeric acids, which were identified in the cervical mucus S. pasteuri culture supernatant. The present findings suggest that S. pasteuri extracellular proteins may play an important role in buffalo sexual communication during the estrus phase.

Salivary Proteome Profile of Women during Fertile Phase of Menstrual Cycle as Characterized by Mass Spectrometry

Objectives:

Ovulation is such a critical physiological process that its noninvasive detection based on salivary constituents has several advantages in humans. Hence, the present study is proposed to identify the ovulatory-specific proteins in saliva in order to detect ovulation phase.

Materials and Methods:

Samples were collected from women volunteers. The procedure adopted was approved by the Institutional Human Ethical Committee (DM/2014/101/38), Bharathidasan University. The saliva samples were collected from thirty healthy female volunteers, with a prior written consent. One-way analysis of variance was used to calculate protein concentration and band intensity using SPSS 16 software (SPSS Inc., Cary, NC, USA). The salivary protein expression pattern during different phases of menstrual cycle was analyzed using gel-based high resolution-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight/time of flight. Further, bioinformatics tools were adopted to annotate the proteins identified at various phases of menstrual cycle.

Results:

As many as 530 proteins showed up in the saliva during ovulatory phase, whereas there were only 251 proteins identified during postovulatory phase. The functional annotation of salivary proteins revealed that the proteins got assigned to the class of “extracellular proteins” which are concerned with regulatory functions. The 16 unique and/or differentially expressed protein spots appeared during ovulatory phase, among which Cystatin-S, Prolactin-inducible protein, Cystatin-A, Cystatin-SN, BPI fold-containing family A member 2, Alpha-tubulin N-acetyltransferase 1, Carbonic anhydrase-6, Protein LEG1 homolog, Hemoglobin subunit beta, and Pancreatic alpha-amylase were identified.

Conclusion:

Total salivary proteome profile has been listed with respect to various phases of menstrual cycle. Among the protein listed, Cystatin-S offers a biomarker protein and/or indicator of ovulatory phase. However, extensive validation is required before arriving to a candidate bio-marker protein.

Salivary Human Chorionic Gonadotropin as a Novel Biomarker for Early Detection of Pregnancy: A Pilot Study

Context:

The role of saliva in detection of pregnancy has not received the due importance it deserves.

Aims:

The present paper aims at determining the role of saliva in detection of pregnancy using home-based pregnancy detection kits to provide an alternative biofluid that is more user friendly, acceptable, noninvasive, rapid, and easy for home use.

Settings and Design:

The study was conducted among 35 women visiting a gynecology clinic for confirmation of pregnancy, who gave a history of a missed menstrual cycle not more than 4 weeks.

Subjects and Methods:

A home-based pregnancy detection kit meant for urinary human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) detection with 20 mIU specification was used in the study for estimation of salivary hCG. Routine test that was prescribed to the patient such as laboratory-based urine hCG and/or ultrasound examination was used for confirmation of pregnancy status and correlation with the saliva-based result.

Results:

A positive test was obtained in 74% participants, with a dark band in 43% participants and a light band in 31% participants. A negative result was noted in 26% participants. We observed that salivary hCG estimation showed a 77% accuracy and 23% false-negative results.

Conclusions:

An astounding 74% of participants showed a positive result with an existing pregnancy kit which indicates a strong plausibility of using salivary hCG as a biomarker for detection of pregnancy. With the findings obtained from our study, we could positively affirm that salivary hCG can be used as a potential, user friendly, and more acceptable biomarker for early detection of pregnancy.

Ultrastructural and physico-chemical characterization of saliva during menstrual cycle in perspective of ovulation in human

Human saliva is a potential diagnostic fluid and any alteration in body might be reflected in saliva so that saliva is considered as "mirror of the body". Variations in salivary hormone level, ultra structure, pH, flow rate, buffering capacity and electrolytes level are found during menstrual cycle in regard to ovulation. Thirty healthy volunteers were used for the assessment of physico-chemical changes in saliva. Reproductive cycle was categorized as pre-ovulation phase (5 to 12 days), ovulation phase (13 or 14 days) and post-ovulation phase (15 to 25 days) according to salivary arborization test and hormonal analysis. Estradiol and luteinizing hormone was gradually increased and attained peak at the level of 2.28 ± 0.20 pg/mL and 1.35 ± 0.41 mIU/mL respectively during the ovulation phase. The electrolytes result clearly indicates that the influx of common electrolytes is important for crystallization and help to induce clear ferning pattern in ovulation phase. Sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl) were found to be high during ovulation phase only. Average salivary pH was 7.5, 7.1, and 7.3 during ovulation, pre- and post-ovulation phases respectively. Buffering capacity of saliva was normal during pre- and post- ovulation phases. In contrast, in ovulation phase the buffer capacity was slightly higher. At the first time, the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies revealed the ultra structure difference of saliva during menstrual cycle. During ovulation phase a compact network-shaped mesh was appeared; such structure was not appeared in pre- and post ovulation phases. Additionally, we observed the saliva is arrayed as a fine mosaic-like structure during ovulation. Based on physico-chemical properties and hormonal levels may lead to develop a detection kit/sensor for detecting the ovulation phase in human.