Electrophoretic analysis of the protein in palatine saliva

The protein in palatine saliva was investigated and compared with that in parotid saliva by means of SDS electrophoretic method. It was found that palatine saliva contains a large amount of high molecular weight protein (higher than 300,000) which is identified as mucin-rich glycoprotein and sialoglycoprotein, while no such protein is present in parotid saliva. The protein composition of palatine saliva has qualitatively smaller individual difference when compared to that of parotid saliva. We suggest that the high molecular weight protein which is specific to palatine saliva probably contributes to the rentention of complete maxillary dentures.