Abstract:

Objective To explore the glycoproteins level in unstimulated whole saliva from 6-7 years old caries active children and compare the glycoproteins level between caries active children and caries free children. Methods Two milliliter unstimulated whole saliva was collected from each of 50 caries free (dmft/DMFT＝0) and 50 caries active (dmft/DMFT≥6) children aged 6-7 years. The supernatant of the saliva underwent SDS-PAGE protein electrophoresis. Then PAS alcian blue staining was used to stain glycoproteins. The number of stained glycoprotein bands in each sample was recorded. Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the difference in the numbers of stained glycoprotein bands between the caries free group and the cares active group. Results The glycoproteins bands in samples were stained blue after PAS alcian blue staining for the gel undergoing SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. Mann-Whitney U test revealed that rank means of the numbers of glycoprotein bands in unstimulated whole saliva from the caries free group and the cares active group were 42.63 and 58.37 respectively and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.004).  Conclusion The glycoproteins level in unstimulated whole saliva in 6-7 years old caries active children is significantly higher as compared with age-matched caries free children, suggesting that elevated glycoproteins level may be associated with increased caries incidence in children aged 6-7 years.

Key words: saliva, glycoprotein, caries