Assessment of Salivary Adipokines Resistin, Visfatin, and Ghrelin as Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Biomarkers

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is emerging as a metabolic epidemic worldwide. Pathologically, dysregulation of many biological pathways precedes hyperglycemia and the clinical diagnosis of T2DM. Changing trajectories along the process of T2DM development necessitates frequent measurement of biomarkers for early identification of at-risk individuals and successful prevention. Increase in circulating inflammatory adipokines has been suggested as predictive of T2DM. Human saliva is an easily accessible biospecimen amenable for painless frequent collection and possesses nearly 50% of serum proteome. In this study, we measured the adipokines resistin, visfatin, TNF-α, and ghrelin as markers for T2DM in unstimulated whole saliva (UWS) using specific assay kits. Resistin and visfatin concentrations were significantly higher in T2DM saliva. Although the concentration of acylated or unacylated ghrelin was lower in diabetic saliva, the decrease was not significant. Since resistin and visfatin are biomarkers integral to T2DM pathology, their salivary assessments may receive clinical acceptance.