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Salivary B2-microglobulin, sodium level markers differentiated patients with Sjögren’s syndrome
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Determining cut-off levels of beta2-microglobulin and sodium markers in saliva effectively differentiated Sjögren’s syndrome patients from non-Sjögren’s syndrome patients and healthy controls in a recent study.
Researchers in Japan analyzed unstimulated whole saliva samples from 175 patients with connective tissue diseases (CTD) and 75 healthy controls between April 2008 and October 2010. CTD patients included those classified as having primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS; n=71), secondary SS (sSS; n=50) or CTDs without SS (non-SS-CTD; n=54). After collection, saliva samples were evaluated using sialochemistry for beta2-microglobulin (B2MG), sodium, potassium and chloride levels.
B2MG, sodium and chloride levels were greater among pSS and sSS patients compared with non-SS-CTD and controls (P<.05). Salivary B2MG levels were 5.3 ± 4.6 mg/L and 5.1 ± 2 mg/L, respectively, in pSS and sSS patients compared with levels of 2.5 ± 2.1 mg/L in non-SS-CTD and 1.2 ± 0.7 mg/L in controls.
The SS cohorts also displayed more pronounced sodium levels (39.2 ± 25.2 mEq/L for pSS; 36.4 ± 26.1 mEq/L for sSS) than non-SS-CTD patients (19.8 ± 16.8 mEq/L) and controls (16.5 ± 7.3 mEq/L). Chloride levels indicated a similar trend, and showed a positive correlation with sodium in SS patients and controls.
“The cut-off levels of B2MG and [sodium] in unstimulated whole saliva for differentiating SS patients from non-SS patients and [controls] would be 2.3 mg/L for B2MG and 23 mEq/L for [sodium],” the researchers concluded. “Salivary B2MG and [sodium] levels are useful markers for differentiating SS patients from non-SS-CTD patients and [controls].”
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