Association of salivary alpha 2-macroglobulin levels and clinical characteristics in type 2 diabetes.

Aims/introduction: Studies suggest that salivary proteins can be used as potential non-invasive markers for clinical diagnosis and screening for diabetes. Previous reports showed that plasma alpha 2-macroglobulin (A2MG) levels were higher in diabetic patients, especially with diabetic complications. We investigated the relationship between salivary A2MG values and clinical characteristics in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Materials And Methods: A total of 91 adults were recruited from our outpatient clinics. The study the patients' collected general and biochemical data, and blood glucose (fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c]) data. Plasma and salivary A2MG levels were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results: The salivary A2MG levels were significantly positively correlated with plasma A2MG levels, fasting glucose HbA1c and periodontitis status. After 3 months of follow up, the net change of salivary A2MG values positively correlated with the net change of fasting glucose, HbA1c and triglyceride levels, but negatively correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol changes. Furthermore, the correlations between salivary A2MG and fasting glucose HbA1c were better than plasma A2MG, respectively.

Conclusions: Our data show that salivary A2MG levels have better correlation with fasting glucose HbA1c and periodontitis status than plasma A2MG in diabetic patients. Salivary A2MG concentration might serve as a non-invasive marker for clinical diabetic control.