Immunological alterations in newly diagnosed primary Sjögren's syndrome characterized by skewed peripheral T-cell subsets and inflammatory cytokines.
OBJECTIVE
To describe how certain peripheral immune parameters reflect the inflammatory alterations in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). We determined lymphocyte subpopulations and their state of activation from peripheral blood, evaluating both soluble serum T-helper (Th)1/Th2-type cytokines and intracytoplasmic cytokines.


METHODS
Forty-nine patients with newly diagnosed pSS and 40 healthy individuals, all free from immunomodulant or immunosuppressive medication, were studied. Peripheral blood lymphocyte subgroups were quantified by flow cytometry, soluble cytokines were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and intracellular cytokine levels were measured after phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) stimulation by flow cytometry after staining of intracellular cytokines.


RESULTS
Patients with primary SS had higher percentages of activated CD3+/CD69+ T cells than controls. When comparing naïve vs. memory subsets of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, a shift towards the memory phenotype was observed for both. Natural killer (NK) cell and NK T-cell (NKT) percentages and Th0 and Th1 cell numbers were increased in patients compared to controls. Among circulating cytokines, interferon (IFN)-gamma was high, whereas interleukin (IL)-10 was decreased in SS when compared to controls.


CONCLUSIONS
SS, considered as a systemic autoimmune disease, is characterized by a complex interplay of various cytokines and immune cells. The skewed T-cell subsets and cytokine imbalance play important roles in an orchestrated proinflammatory cascade.
Szodoray
P
P
Division of Clinical Immunology, 3rd Department of Medicine, Medical and Health Science Centre, University of Debrecen, Debrecen.
Gal
I
I
Barath
S
S
Aleksza
M
M
Horvath
I F
IF
Gergely
P
P
Szegedi
G
G
Nakken
B
B
Zeher
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology*
D016207:Cytokines