In the last years, several attempts have been made to study specific
biological markers of
temporomandibular disorders (TMD). So far, no laboratory tests have been appropriately validated for the diagnosis and prognosis of these disorders. This study aimed to investigate the proteomic profile of the whole stimulated saliva of TMD
myalgia patients in order to evaluate potential diagnostic and/or prognostic salivary candidate
proteins which could be useful for the management of TMD. Twenty patients diagnosed with TMD
myalgia according to the validated Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (DC/TMD) and 20 matched healthy
pain-free controls were enrolled. Saliva samples were collected in the morning. Comparative proteomic analysis was performed with two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by identification with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Statistical analysis of the quantitative proteomics data revealed that 20
proteins were significantly altered in patients compared to controls. Among these
proteins, 12 showed significantly increased levels, and 8 showed significantly decreased levels in patients with TMD
myalgia compared to controls. The identified
proteins are involved in metabolic processes, immune response, and stress response. This proteomic study shows that the
salivary protein profile can discriminate patients with TMD
myalgia from healthy subjects, but the
protein signature has no correlation with the clinical features of TMD
myalgia. Additional studies are needed to validate our observations in additional sample sets and to continue assessing the utility of saliva as a suitable sample for studying processes related to TMD
myalgia.