Exploración de un perfil proteico en saliva con los marcadores cognitivos, físicos y funcionales del síndrome de fragilidad

Resum

The frailty syndrome is associated with adverse aging and decreased physiological reserves. The underlying cause of frailty is multifaceted, which includes immunosenescence, inflammation, among other alterations, which lead to cognitive and physical disability, and death. Therefore, the discovery of protein biomarkers may be a step forward for the diagnosis and prognosis of this syndrome. Currently, biomarkers in saliva are used as early predictors of diseases. Saliva collection is non-invasive and simple, which is a primary factor for testing in the frail population. The main objectives of this research were to analyze cognitive, physical and functional indicators of frailty syndrome and to explore the determination of protein profiles in saliva for their possible evaluation and correlation with this syndrome in a pilot study carried out on a group of 34 non-institutionalized older adults from the province of Salamanca. For the evaluation of the cognitive, physical and functional markers, a wide compendium of scales (tests) was used that evaluated bio-behavioral and psychosocial indicators, and for the detection of biomarkers in the 68 saliva analytes obtained, the proteomic method of multiple reaction monitoring (SRM/MRM), where a differential protein profile of 9 proteins was detected: CYTC, CYTD, CYTS, CYTB, MIF, ALBU, CD44, COX3, and B2MG. Multivariate analysis were performed to obtain the results. The conclusions reached were the existing link of multifactorial biological, physical, functional, cognitive and social aspects of the elderly with the frailty syndrome. As well as the detection of a differential protein profile related to a persistent low-grade inflammatory response to associated morbidities, such as vascular aging, adiposity, mood problems, global and frontal cognitive impairment, gait disturbances, manual pressure force, and physical activity. In future research, it is recommended to increase the size of the sample in order to obtain better results, as well as to improve the methodology in order to achieve verification and validation of the already mentioned potential biomarkers.