Salivary anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide as a screening tool for rheumatoid arthritis
Nazanin Mortazavi1
, Nafiseh Abdolahi2, Mohsen Saeidi3, Mohammad Ali Vakili4, Pouria Mohebrad1
1Dental Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
2Golestan Rheumatology Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
3Stem Cell Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
4Health Management and Social Development Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
Keywords: Rheumatoid arthritis, saliva, screening.
Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of salivary anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide 3 (anti-CCP3) for the early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.
Patients and methods: Between June 2017 and April 2019, a total of 63 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (10 males, 53 females; mean age: 50.4±9.5 years; range, 27 to 74 years) and 49 healthy controls (8 males, 41 females; mean age: 49.3±9.3 years; range 27 to 67 years) were included. Salivary samples were collected by passive drooling. Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide analyses of salivary and serum samples were performed.
Results: The mean polyclonal immunoglobulin (Ig)G-IgA anti-CCP3 salivary levels were significantly different in patients (149.2±134.2) compared to healthy controls (28.5±23.9). The mean polyclonal IgG-IgA anti-CCP3 serum levels were measured as 254.0±169.5 in patients and 3.8±3.6 in healthy individuals. The diagnostic accuracy analysis of salivary IgG-IgA anti-CCP3 results in an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.818, as well as 91.84% specificity and 61.90% sensitivity.
Conclusion: Salivary anti-CCP3 may be considered as an additional screening test for rheumatoid arthritis.
Citation: Mortazavi N, Abdolahi N, Saeidi M, Vakili MA, Mohebrad P. Salivary anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide as a screening tool for rheumatoid arthritis. Arch Rheumatol 2023;38(1):95-100.
The study protocol was approved by the Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Ethics Committee (IR.GOUMS.REC.1396.70). The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
A written informed consent was obtained from each patient.
Data Sharing Statement:
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
All authors contributed equally to the article.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
This study was supported by Golestan University of Medical Sciences with the Grant No. 960427096.