Evaluation of salivary ceruloplasmin for the diagnosis of Wilson’s disease

Abstract The serum ceruloplasmin assay is the most commonly used test for diagnosing Wilson’s disease (WD). Despite the utility of non-invasive tests for diagnosing WD, no such tests have been developed. Therefore, we aimed to identify a safe and non-invasive assay and determine the factors associat...

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Main Authors: Nian Zhang, Limin Wu, Pengyu Jiang, Zhihui Ji, Miaozhu Yin, Huan Zhou, Lei He, Zehua Xia, Fengying Wang, Xin Xiao, Hui Han
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-03-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93045-x
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author Nian Zhang
Limin Wu
Pengyu Jiang
Zhihui Ji
Miaozhu Yin
Huan Zhou
Lei He
Zehua Xia
Fengying Wang
Xin Xiao
Hui Han
author_facet Nian Zhang
Limin Wu
Pengyu Jiang
Zhihui Ji
Miaozhu Yin
Huan Zhou
Lei He
Zehua Xia
Fengying Wang
Xin Xiao
Hui Han
author_sort Nian Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The serum ceruloplasmin assay is the most commonly used test for diagnosing Wilson’s disease (WD). Despite the utility of non-invasive tests for diagnosing WD, no such tests have been developed. Therefore, we aimed to identify a safe and non-invasive assay and determine the factors associated with salivary ceruloplasmin. The sample comprised 167 participants: 130 patients with WD (experimental group) and 37 individuals without WD (control group). Salivary ceruloplasmin’s diagnostic performance was assessed using a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, and the diagnostic thresholds were determined. The Mann–Whitney U test for independent samples was used to compare intergroup variability between the control and WD groups. We used Pearson’s correlation coefficient to determine intergroup correlations between the blood and salivary ceruloplasmin levels of patients with WD. Salivary ceruloplasmin levels were significantly lower in the WD group than in the control group. Serum and salivary ceruloplasmin levels were positively correlated. The area under the curve for salivary ceruloplasmin was 0.9977. The critical value of salivary ceruloplasmin was 8.885 ng/mL, with a sensitivity of 99.23% and specificity of 100%. Evidently, salivary ceruloplasmin has substantial diagnostic value. Therefore, saliva analysis can be used as a non-invasive alternative to serum analysis for diagnosing WD.
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spelling doaj-art-e1b0466c3e874430af29b3caecfa683d2025-08-20T02:56:09ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-03-0115111110.1038/s41598-025-93045-xEvaluation of salivary ceruloplasmin for the diagnosis of Wilson’s diseaseNian Zhang0Limin Wu1Pengyu Jiang2Zhihui Ji3Miaozhu Yin4Huan Zhou5Lei He6Zehua Xia7Fengying Wang8Xin Xiao9Hui Han10Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese MedicineReproductive and Genetic Branch, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of ChinaDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese MedicineDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese MedicineDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese MedicineDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese MedicineDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese MedicineDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese MedicineDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese MedicineDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese MedicineDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese MedicineAbstract The serum ceruloplasmin assay is the most commonly used test for diagnosing Wilson’s disease (WD). Despite the utility of non-invasive tests for diagnosing WD, no such tests have been developed. Therefore, we aimed to identify a safe and non-invasive assay and determine the factors associated with salivary ceruloplasmin. The sample comprised 167 participants: 130 patients with WD (experimental group) and 37 individuals without WD (control group). Salivary ceruloplasmin’s diagnostic performance was assessed using a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, and the diagnostic thresholds were determined. The Mann–Whitney U test for independent samples was used to compare intergroup variability between the control and WD groups. We used Pearson’s correlation coefficient to determine intergroup correlations between the blood and salivary ceruloplasmin levels of patients with WD. Salivary ceruloplasmin levels were significantly lower in the WD group than in the control group. Serum and salivary ceruloplasmin levels were positively correlated. The area under the curve for salivary ceruloplasmin was 0.9977. The critical value of salivary ceruloplasmin was 8.885 ng/mL, with a sensitivity of 99.23% and specificity of 100%. Evidently, salivary ceruloplasmin has substantial diagnostic value. Therefore, saliva analysis can be used as a non-invasive alternative to serum analysis for diagnosing WD.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93045-xSerumSalivaCeruloplasminWilson’s disease
spellingShingle Nian Zhang
Limin Wu
Pengyu Jiang
Zhihui Ji
Miaozhu Yin
Huan Zhou
Lei He
Zehua Xia
Fengying Wang
Xin Xiao
Hui Han
Evaluation of salivary ceruloplasmin for the diagnosis of Wilson’s disease
Scientific Reports
Serum
Saliva
Ceruloplasmin
Wilson’s disease
title Evaluation of salivary ceruloplasmin for the diagnosis of Wilson’s disease
title_full Evaluation of salivary ceruloplasmin for the diagnosis of Wilson’s disease
title_fullStr Evaluation of salivary ceruloplasmin for the diagnosis of Wilson’s disease
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of salivary ceruloplasmin for the diagnosis of Wilson’s disease
title_short Evaluation of salivary ceruloplasmin for the diagnosis of Wilson’s disease
title_sort evaluation of salivary ceruloplasmin for the diagnosis of wilson s disease
topic Serum
Saliva
Ceruloplasmin
Wilson’s disease
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93045-x
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