Quantitative and qualitative changes in saliva of I131 treated patients

Radioactive iodine (I131) treatment targets the thyroid gland and has been proven to play an effective role in the treatment of differentiated follicular and papillary thyroid cancers. Salivary glands cellular damage is one of the side effects of this treatment resulting in a 50-60% decrease in salivary flow .Objectives: To analyze human whole saliva proteomic pattern of I131 treated patients in comparison to that of healthy control subjects. Methods: Unstimulated whole saliva from 6 healthy volunteers and 6 radioactive iodine treated patients was collected. Proteins were individually extracted and separated by 2-D SDS-PAGE (2-DE) using a pH range of 3-10 followed by a 9.5-16.5% gradient gel. Analytical gels were visualized by ammoniacal silver stain and digitalized using PDQuest software. Selected protein spots of interest were analyzed by electrospray ionization - tandem mass spectrometry. Results: There is a reduction in the number of spots visualized after silver staining of the 2-DE maps derived from the 131 treated patients saliva compared to those of healthy examinants. Conclusions: In this preliminary study, protein expression differences were found between I131 treated patients and healthy subjects.