Proteomic characterization of the mucosal pellicle formed in vitro on a cellular model of oral epithelium

The oral mucosal pellicle is a thin lubricating layer generated by the binding of saliva proteins on epithelial oral cells. The protein composition of this biological structure has been to date studied by targeted analyses of specific salivary proteins. In order to perform a more exhaustive proteome characterization of pellicles, we used TR146 cells expressing or not the transmembrane mucin MUC1 and generated pellicles by incubation with human saliva and washing to remove unbound proteins. A suitable method was established for the in vitro isolation of the mucosal pellicle by "shaving" it from the cells using trypsin. The extracts, the washing solutions and the saliva used to constitute the…