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The long term goal of the Salivary Research Center is to produce an artificial replacement for saliva. While saliva serves as a lubricant that facilitates the digestive process, it also provides protection to teeth and soft tissue from a variety of bacteria and viruses. Patients who are taking some forms of medications, receiving radiation therapy, or suffering from Sjogren's Syndrome - a condition characterized by a decrease in the production of all body fluids - frequently experience a loss or severe reduction in the production of saliva. While this is uncomfortable to a patient, the loss of protection from a number of bacteria and viruses can result in rampant caries, fungal infections, and severe periodontal disease.
Researchers in the Salivary Research Center are attempting to formulate an artificial saliva that would have many, if not all, the components of natural saliva. Recently, they have succeeded in cloning two major proteins found in saliva: histatins and cystatins. Histatins are small proteins that keep Candida albicans in check. This fungus is a normal component of the oral environment that, if allowed to get out of control, can cause severe fungal infections. Cystatins are larger molecules that protect oral tissues from a variety of microorganisms, including viruses and some bacteria. They function by interfering with a specific group of enzymes that are thought to be involved with microbe replication. These enzymes, when released by the microbe, destroy gingival tissue.
The cloning of these two proteins gives researchers the opportunity to modify their structures to improve their effectiveness. Efforts continue to clone additional proteins. Two more proteins related to the lubricating qualities of saliva are not far from being cloned.
The ability to clone these proteins brings the possibility of formulating an artificial saliva closer to realization. In the future, these proteins may also aid in the fight against tooth decay.
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