Proteomic and N-glycoproteomic quantification reveal aberrant changes in the human saliva of oral ulcer patients.

The human whole saliva is a vital body fluid to study the physiology and pathology of oral cavity. As a powerful technique for biomarker discovery, mass spectrometry-based proteomic strategy has been introduced to saliva analysis and identified hundreds of proteins and N-glycosylation sites. However, there still lacks of quantitative analysis, which is necessary for biomarker screening and biological researches. In this study, we established an integrated workflow by the combination of stable isotope dimethyl labeling, HILIC enrichment and high resolution mass spectrometry for both quantification of global proteome and N-glycoproteome of human saliva from oral ulcer patients. With the help of advanced bioinformatics, we comprehensively studied oral ulcer at both protein and glycoprotein scales. Bioinformatics analyses revealed that starch digestion and proteins degradation activities are inhibited while the immune response is promoted in oral ulcer saliva. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved