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Study · Measured the body's own peptide · 2024

2 results

A top-down proteomic approach reveals a salivary protein profile able to classify Parkinson's disease with respect to Alzheimer's disease patients and to healthy controls.

Contini C, Fadda L, Lai G, Masala C, Olianas A, Castagnola M, Messana I, Iavarone F, Bizzarro A, Masullo C, Solla P, Defazio G, Manconi B, Diaz G, Cabras T

Proteomics4 Aug 2023Cited by 10 (Europe PMC)

PMID37541286 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1002/pmic.202300202 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-37541286
Publisher pagePubMedAsk about this study
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Summary

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease with motor and non-motor symptoms. Diagnosis is complicated by lack of reliable biomarkers. To individuate peptides and/or proteins with diagnostic potential for early diagnosis, severity and discrimination from similar pathologies, the salivary proteome in 36 PD patients was investigated in comparison with 36 healthy controls (HC) and 35 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. A top-down platform based on HPLC-ESI-IT-MS allowed characterizing and quantifying intact peptides, small proteins and their PTMs (overall 51). The three groups showed significantly different protein profiles, PD showed the highest levels of cystatin SA and antileukoproteinase and the lowest of cystatin SN and some statherin proteoforms. HC exhibited the lowest abundance of thymosin β4, short S100A9, cystatin A, and dimeric cystatin B. AD patients showed the highest abundance of α-defensins and short oxidized S100A9. Moreover, different proteoforms of the same protein, as S-cysteinylated and S-glutathionylated cystatin B, showed opposite trends in the two pathological groups. Statherin, cystatins SA and SN classified accurately PD from HC and AD subjects. α-defensins, histatin 1, oxidized S100A9, and P-B fragments were the best classifying factors between PD and AD patients. Interestingly statherin and thymosin β4 correlated with defective olfactory functions in PD patients. All these outcomes highlighted implications of specific proteoforms involved in the innate-immune response and inflammation regulation at oral and systemic level, suggesting a possible panel of molecular and clinical markers suitable to recognize subjects affected by PD.
CC BYText from Europe PMC. Highlighted sentences are the source of results.

Results from this study2

No result from this study comes from a test of the peptide.

Natural levels measured2

These results measure the body's own peptide. Nobody was given the peptide. They are not evidence about taking it. They are left out of key results, evidence counts and charts.

  1. 01HumanEndogenous levelObservational studyOther

    In patients with Parkinson's disease, salivary thymosin β4 correlated with defective olfactory function.

    In plain wordsIn people with Parkinson's disease, the body's own thymosin β4 in saliva was linked to poorer sense of smell.

    Peptide
    Thymosin beta-4 (human)
    Outcome
    Not applicableSalivary thymosin β4 correlation with olfactory function in PD
    Study

    n = 36

    Outcome group
    Aging markers · Nervous system and cognition

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Interestingly statherin and thymosin β4 correlated with defective olfactory functions in PD patients.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    To individuate peptides and/or proteins with diagnostic potential for early diagnosis, severity and discrimination from similar pathologies, the salivary proteome in 36 PD patients was investigated in comparison with 36 healthy controls (HC) and 35 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.

    This result measures the body's own Thymosin beta-4 (human). Nobody was given the peptide. It is not evidence about taking it.

  2. 02HumanEndogenous levelObservational studyOther

    In a salivary proteome study, healthy controls had the lowest abundance of the body's own thymosin β4 compared with Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease patients.

    In plain wordsHealthy people had the lowest levels of the body's own thymosin β4 in saliva compared with people with Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease.

    Peptide
    Thymosin beta-4 (human)
    Outcome
    DecreaseSalivary thymosin β4 abundance in healthy controls
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease groups
    Outcome group
    Aging markers · Nervous system and cognition

    Source sentences

    Summary
    HC exhibited the lowest abundance of thymosin β4, short S100A9, cystatin A, and dimeric cystatin B.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    To individuate peptides and/or proteins with diagnostic potential for early diagnosis, severity and discrimination from similar pathologies, the salivary proteome in 36 PD patients was investigated in comparison with 36 healthy controls (HC) and 35 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.

    This result measures the body's own Thymosin beta-4 (human). Nobody was given the peptide. It is not evidence about taking it.

AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.

Version history

PepBank keeps every version of the data on this study. Status changes from Retraction Watch, Europe PMC and Crossref are listed with their source.

  1. Version 2Current

    13 Oct 2026, 01:52 UTC

    Study results updated

  2. Version 1

    12 Oct 2026, 18:17 UTC

    First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

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