Saliva tests make diagnosis advance
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From Times Staff and Wire Reports
U.S. researchers have identified all 1,116 unique proteins found in human saliva glands, a discovery that they say could usher in a wave of convenient spit-based diagnostic tests to replace the drawing of blood.
As many as 20% of the proteins that are found in saliva are also found in blood, they said. The researchers hope saliva-based tests can be used to diagnose cancer, heart disease, diabetes and a number of other conditions, they report in the Journal of Proteome Research.
Like a genome, which lists all of the genes in an organism, a proteome is a complete map of proteins. While genes provide the instruction manual, proteins carry out the instructions by regulating cellular processes.
