title: Expansion of identical B-cell clones in the bilateral parotid glands and their circulation in the peripheral blood in a patient with Sjögren's syndrome.
abstract: Abstract We encountered a patient with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) associated with bilateral parotid salivary gland swelling. Histological analysis of biopsy specimens from both parotid glands showed myoepithelial islands and infiltration of small- and intermediate-sized lymphocytes but no cytological atypia. Using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and subsequent single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis, monoclonal B-cell expansion was detected in samples from both right and left parotid glands, bone marrow, and peripheral blood (PB). Our case suggests that the circulating clonal lymphocytes represent clones that can repopulate tissue sites and may contribute to B-cell lymphomagenesis. Detection of monoclonal B cells in PB is therefore considered to be important in monitoring the disease course of SS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University , 4546 Tsurumihara, Beppu, Oita 874-0838 , Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shiokawa
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohshima
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suehiro
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nishimura