Salivary Lysozyme and Glycosylated Lysozyme Levels of Type 2 Diabetic Patients in Comparison with Healthy Individuals

Diabetes is a complex metabolic disorder that can cause changes in the composition and function of saliva. Therefore, it seems that the study of saliva composition in patients with diabetes will help in its diagnosis, prognosis, and complications. The present study aimed to compare the saliva’s lysozyme and glycosylated lysozyme levels of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in comparison with healthy individuals. Lysozyme and glycosylated lysozyme levels of salivary samples were measured using ELISA method. The results of this study showed that salivary lysozyme levels were lower in T2D patients. Meanwhile, the salivary glycosylated lysozyme levels were higher in T2D patients compared to control (p≤ 0.001). Salivary lysozyme levels in patients with long-term diabetes (more than three years) were significantly lower than those of T2D patients having the disease for three years. Also, salivary glycosylated lysozyme levels were significantly higher in patients with long-term diabetes (more than three years) than in patients with short-term diabetes (less than three years). In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrated that the salivary lysozyme level in patients with T2D was lower than in healthy individuals. Also, the salivary glycosylated lysozyme level of the T2D patients was higher than healthy individuals. Increased duration of T2D affliction also appears to be associated with increased salivary glycosylated lysozyme levels. Moreover, the increase of salivary glycosylated lysozyme was greater in patients with T2D than in healthy individuals. These findings indicate the important role of salivary glycosylated lysozymes in diagnosing and predicting the complications of diabetic patients.