Abstract
Proteases are important molecules that are involved in many physiological and pathological processes of the human body, such as growth, apoptosis and metastasis cancer cells. They are potential targets in cancer diagnosis and biotherapy. In this study, we analyzed the salivary protease spectrum of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), oral benign masses and chronic periodontitis, as well as that of health, using human protease array kits, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, western blot and immunofluorescence. The salivary protease spectrum was found to be associated with oral diseases. For example, the saliva of patients with OSCC contained increased numbers of proteases than those of other oral diseases and health. The levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, MMP-2, MMP-10, MMP-12, A disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM)9, A disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 13 motifs (ADAMST13), cathepsin V and kallikrein 5 in the saliva of patients with OSCC were significantly increased compared with those of other groups. Taking MMP-1, cathepsin V, kallikrein 5 and ADAM9 as biomarkers of OSCC, cutoff values were199, 11.34, 9.29 and 202.55 pg·mL−1, respectively. From the area under the curve, sensitivity and specificity, the combination of cathepsin V/kallikrein5/ADAM9 was an optimal biomarker for diagnosing OSCC. Thus, analysis of the salivary protease spectrum may be an innovative and cost-efficient approach to evaluating the health status of the oral cavity. Specifically, increases in cathepsin V, kallikrein 5 and ADAM9 may be useful biomarkers in the screening and diagnosis of OSCC.
Highlights
Laboratory testing is an important and accurate method of diagnosis and prognosis in the evaluation of human diseases
Our results indicated that the protease spectrum of oral cancer was markedly distinct from that of healthy controls, as well as patients with oral benign masses (OBM) and mild chronic periodontitis (CPD).the analysis of the salivary protease spectrum may be a useful approach to screen and diagnose oral cancer during the evaluation of the health status of the oral cavity
ADAM9, cathepsin v, kallikrein 5, The human protease array kit used in these studies measured 35 urokinase plasminogen activator/urokinase and kallikrein 7 types of proteases (Fig. 1 and Table 1)
Summary
Laboratory testing is an important and accurate method of diagnosis and prognosis in the evaluation of human diseases. Some chronic diseases, such as cancer, may have progressed to intermediate or advantaged stages by the time of diagnosis, which results in a poorer prognosis; an earlier diagnosis is an important, challenging, goal. Diagnosis may be facilitated by developing accurate laboratory testing methods to support clinicians. Many advantages exist to utilizing saliva as a body fluid in laboratory tests as compared to serum and tissue samples: saliva contains a wide spectrum of biomarkers for various diseases, but the collection of saliva is noninvasive, its transport and storage are easy, and obtaining saliva is cost effective and efficient.[5,6,7]
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