Saliva Proteome Database
Saliva is an important body fluid biofluid that helps in mastication, protection of oral and esophageal tissues, as well as provide immune functions against pathogens. Saliva has also systemic functions as it provides mucosal immunity and production of antibodies and antimicrobial proteins. Because of these functions, saliva has long been investigated known for its biological potential and as a diagnostic medium for both oral and systemic diseases. Compared to blood and other body fluids, saliva can be easily and non-invasively collected, even by the non-expert, making it an attractive body fluid for on-site and more economical for real-time monitoring.
The Human Salivary Proteome (HSP) Wiki as a public data portal for searching and retrieving custom-curated information about the proteome of human saliva. To facilitate the translation of the seemingly overwhelming amount of research data generated, the proteome database catalog is compiled dynamically and updated based on the available saliva proteome with the most up-to-date protein maps.
We have also integrated a wide range of supporting data by funneling in data from established external protein, genome, transcriptome, and glycome databases. The HSP-Wiki also incorporates data from human disease-related studies as well as from including metadata and study design from multiple sources, and additional data can be retrieved on demand. In addition to exploring the proteome of the saliva interface catalog, users are encouraged to annotate deposited the protein entries using a simple, intuitive interface.
The curation process is facilitated by a combination by leaders in the field and of both community feedback. Dr. Freire, an Associated professor at JCVI, is one of experts in the leadership team to assure the quality and validity of each annotation. A semantic framework has also been incorporated to enable ad hoc querying of proteins via these annotations stored in the HSP-Wiki. We expect that this saliva-centric open-source database will and the common purpose, too, to advance the knowledge related to salivary composition and function in health and disease. We hope that the community-based Wiki format will encourage the worldwide interchange of information related to saliva, solidify the existing knowledge base, kindle novel ideas, encourage the formulation of testable hypotheses, and, most of all, create a platform for cross-discipline collaborations. Only then will it be possible to harness the full potential of saliva for diagnosis, risk prediction, and targeted therapy.
JCVI is on the leadership team working with the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and has provided raw and analyzed proteomics data from whole saliva from healthy population, aging, and oral cancer study.