Gel-Free Proteomics of Sjögren’s Syndrome patient saliva

Sjögren's Syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune exocrinopathy characterized by the progressive damage of salivary and lacrimal glands associated with lymphocytic infiltration. It can be defined as primary SS (pSS) or associated/secondary SS (sSS) if combined with another systemic autoimmune disease. Identifying new non-invasive biomarkers for SS diagnosis remains a challenge, and alterations in saliva composition reported in patients turn this fluid into a source of potential biomarkers. To examine the overall panorama of proteins in saliva, samples of control, pSS, and sSS individuals were analyzed by gel-free LC-MS/MS.