Potential Biomarkers in Gingival Crevicular Fluid Identify Pubertal Peak

Objectives: Detection of pubertal growth peak is vital in the decision of orthodontic treatment timing for skeletal deformity. Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) originates mainly from serum and local tissues and contains abundant proteins from different sources. GCF has been proved to be an ideal source of biomarkers. MALDI-TOF MS is an advanced mass spectrometry technique which can detect low-molecular-weight peptides with high sensitivity and resolution. The aim of this research is to identify novel candidate biomarkers in GCF to help the diagnosis of pubertal growth peak by MALDI-TOF MS.
Methods: Pubertal subjects (n=20) and post-pubertal subjects (n=20) were recruited in the study and GCF was collected by paper points at mesiolabial and distolabial sites of upper incisors. The tips of the four paper points were cut where was visibly wetted and GCF was eluted by 2.5% TFA. MALDI-TOF MS spectra were acquired using Clin-ToF-II system (BioyongTech, Beijing, China) in linear mode. MS spectra data was processed and analyzed by BioExplorer version 1.0 software (Bioyong Tech). The student t test was used to compare the difference between Group I and Group II. Diagnostic models were built using Fisher discrimination analysis and K-Nearest-Neighbor (KNN) algorithm.
Results: Results showed that 6 peptides were significantly different between two groups: 1660.2Da, 1783.0Da, 2912.5Da, 4178.6Da, 5064.9Da and 6108.9Da, which were considered to be candidate biomarkers of pubertal growth peak. Statistical diagnostic models were built and the average accuracy of diagnosis was more than 80%.
Conclusions: 6 peptides are considered to be candidate biomarkers of pubertal growth peak. Further studies are needed to identify the sequence information of these candidate biomarkers.