Immunoreactive thyroglobulin-like material derived from saliva

The presence of an immunoreactive thyroglobulin-like material in saliva from normal subjects and from 35 patients with thyroid carcinoma was detected by radioimmunoassay. The levels of this material in saliva were markedly elevated in patients with extensive metastases. Concentrated saliva samples from normal subjects and from patients with thyroid carcinoma were fractioned on Sepharose-6B and each fraction was assayed from thyroglobulin content by RIA. Several protein peaks of varying molecular size with thyroglublin-like immunoreactivity were observed. The physiological significance of these molecules in saliva remains to be established.