Saliva is a non-invasive source of biomarkers useful in the study of physiological mechanisms. Moreover, this fluid has diverse functions, among which food perception and ingestion, making it particularly suitable for the study of obesity. The aims of this study were to assess changes in salivary proteome among morbidly obese women, with a view to provide information about mechanisms potentially related to the development of obesity, and to evaluate whether these changes persist after weight loss. Mixed saliva samples from morbidly obese women (N = 18) who had been either subjected (group O-BS) or not (group O) to bariatric surgery and women with normal weight (N = 14; group C) were compared for protein profiles, alpha-amylase abundance and enzymatic activity, and carbonic anhydrase (CA) VI abundance. Differences in salivary obese profiles were observed for 23 different spots. Zinc-alpha-2 glycoprotein-containing spots showed higher abundance in group O only, whereas cystatin S-containing spots presented higher abundance in the two groups of obese subjects. Most of the spots identified as salivary amylase were present at lower levels in group O-BS. With regard to the amylase enzymatic activity, increases were observed for group O and decreases for group O-BS. One interesting finding was the high correlation between levels of CA VI and body mass index in group O, which was not observed for groups O-BS or C. The differences between groups, mainly regarding salivary proteins involved in taste sensitivity and metabolism, point to the potential of using saliva in the study of obesity development.
Keywords: Alpha-amylase; Bariatric surgery; Carbonic anhydrase VI; Obesity; Salivary proteome.