title: The meaning of anti-Ro and anti-La antibodies in primary Sjögren's syndrome.
abstract: Anti-SSA/Ro and anti-La/SSB are the hallmark antibodies in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS), being present in 60-70%. These antibodies have been associated with an earlier disease onset, glandular dysfunction and extraglandular manifestations as well as with other B cells activation markers. In addition an immunogenetic background is important for the autoantibody formation, having a stronger association with HLA-DR2 and HLA-DR3. Anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB antibodies are useful in the diagnosis of pSS and help to identify more "active" patients, however their association with response to treatment is unclear. Herein we review the evidence regarding the association of these antibodies with HLA background, demographic, clinical, glandular dysfunction, other serologic features and response to treatment in patients with pSS.
authors.affiliation: Immunology and Rheumatology Department, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición SZ, Vasco de Quiroga 15. Colonia Sección XVI, CP 14000, Mexico City, Mexico. gabyhm@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hernández-Molina
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leal-Alegre
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Michel-Peregrina
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015802:HLA-DR2 Antigen / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015803:HLA-DR3 Antigen / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology*; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D015802:HLA-DR2 Antigen; D015803:HLA-DR3 Antigen