OBJECTIVES: Arterial hypertension (AH) influences salivary gland physiology and oral health, being associated with a higher incidence of periodontal disease in pregnant women. Evidence points to a bidirectional relationship between the oral microbiota and blood pressure regulation. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the oral health of pregnant women and AH-associated changes in the salivary proteome and microbiome during pregnancy and postpartum. DESIGN: Ten healthy women and ten women with AH were enrolled. Saliva was collected during pregnancy and six months postpartum. The salivary proteome was characterized by shotgun label-free mass spectrometry analysis. Specific proteins were validated through parallel reaction monitoring (PRM). The oral microbiota was characterized via 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing (V4 region). The periodontal health and the caries history was assessed during pregnancy. RESULTS: Pregnant women with AH had lower junction plakoglobin (JUP)- and desmoplakin (DSP)-specific peptide levels than healthy women, confirmed by the PRM approach. The levels of these proteins correlated negatively with periodontal health indexes, which were higher in pregnant women with AH. In AH, nitrate-reducing microorganisms had lower abundance, correlating positively with JUP and DSP-specific peptides. CONCLUSIONS: The salivary proteome and microbiota are shaped by AH during and after pregnancy. Further research is required to understand the underlying mechanisms impairing oral health in AH.

Cardiovascular R and D Centre Department of Surgery and Physiology Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto Porto Portugal Faculty of Medicine University of Porto Portugal

Department of Preventive Dentistry Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam the Netherlands

i3S Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde Universidade do Porto Portugal; INEB Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica Universidade do Porto Portugal; Department of Preventive Dentistry Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam the Netherlands

i3S Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde Universidade do Porto Portugal; INEB Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica Universidade do Porto Portugal; Faculty of Dental Medicine University of Porto Portugal

i3S Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde Universidade do Porto Portugal; Obstetrics Gynecology and Pediatrics Department Faculty of Medicine University of Porto Porto Portugal; Obstetrics Department Centro Hospitalar de São João Porto Portugal

Laboratory of Structural Biology and Cell Signaling BIOCEV Institute of Microbiology v v i The Czech Academy of Sciences Czech Republic

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