Saliva Protein Helps Older People Fight off New Strains of 'Bird' Flu and 'Swine' Flu

For some people this might sound gross, but according to a new finding, saliva, also known as spit, offers clues as to why older adults are able to fight off the new strains of bird flu and swine flu when compared to the younger generation.

Saliva, which is a part of the body's defense system, may be a key in explaining the age and sex bias shown by influenza and other diseases.

According to the study researchers Zheng Li and colleagues, saliva has a lot to offer than just helping in the process of digesting food substances.  It consists of germ-fighting proteins that are a first-line defense against various infections.

The scientists were aware that levels of glycoprotein differ with age. Glycoproteins are those proteins containing a sugar coating that battle against the microbes that give rise to various diseases.

For the current study, researchers carefully observed how the differences in glycoproteins influence the susceptibility to influenza. For this, they tested 180 samples of saliva from men and women of different ages.

They noticed that glycoproteins in the saliva of people belonging to the age group of 65 and above were more capable of fighting against the influenza when compared to children and young adults, suggesting that seniors fought off bird flu better than young people.

"The research may provide useful information to help understand some age-related diseases and physiological phenomenon specific to women or men, and inspire new ideas for prevention and diagnosis of the diseases by considering the individual conditions based primarily on the salivary analysis," the scientists concluded.

The study was published in the ACS Journal of Proteome Research.