Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Proteomics studies have been initiated in veterinary science; specifically, the proteome exploration in cells, secretions, and tissues of farm animals has increased exponentially. Still, the proteome of companion animals, like dogs, has not been studied in detail. Despite the weight of saliva in the regulation of oral homeostasis in most vertebrates, insufficient studies have been conducted to investigate the salivary composition of different mammal species. Dog saliva is very poorly studied in terms of composition, physiology, and biochemistry. Based on the little that is known about the salivary composition present in the dog mouth, we can highlight significant differences between human and dog saliva. The lack of attention to such critical variations between human and dog saliva and the gap of foundational studies in dog saliva may partially explain why the use of therapeutics developed based on human saliva are not efficient in dogs. Among the diseases that affect dogs, dental calculus and periodontitis are common. In nature, the main protection against these diseases are the salivary components Hypothesis: Dog's saliva has unique composition and biochemistry characteristics that are responsible for promoting oral cavity homeostasis My short-term goals are to understand the dog saliva biochemistry. Here, this grant includes 3 novel areas of investigation: Aim 1: Investigation of the proteome and peptidome in dog saliva Aim 2: Identification of phosphoproteome and their phosphorylated sites in dog saliva Aim 3: Determination of salivary flow rate, inorganic composition, pH and buffer capacity in dog saliva Research Plan: Saliva from dogs will be collected. In addition, saliva will be subjected to proteomic and peptidomic analysis. All acquired mass spectrum data will be analyzed against a comprehensive dog, mammalian and human protein databank (Aim 1). Finally, a phosphoproteome approach will be used to identify the phosphoproteins and their phosphorylation sites (Aim 2). Also, samples will be analyzed for ion composition, pH, and buffer capacity using analytical methods(Aim 3) Relevance of the study: I am proposing the first 5 years of a pioneering scientific exploration towards a comprehensive characterization of the dog saliva. For the first time, I plan to characterize the peptidome and phosphoproteome of dog saliva. As a long-term goal, I will use the research findings generated from this application for continuing my research program where I plan to understand the formation of dental calculus and periodontal disease in dogs. Moreover, I believe that the overall outcome of such OMICS studies has the potential to open novel avenues of investigations with direct relevance to veterinary sciences by identifying biomarkers for dogs oral and systemic diseases - a research area with significant appeal with the Pet Private-Sector where I plan to engage by using a more translational grant tool like NSERC-ALLIANCE grant and CHRP grant