Type I IFN signature in primary Sjögren's syndrome patients.
Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltrates in salivary and lacrimal glands. Clinical manifestations range from ocular and oral dryness to vasculitis and severe fatigue. pSS is a disease with heterogeneous symptoms and a variable response to the available treatment. Recently, a key role for Interferon (IFN) type I has been implicated in the pathogenesis of pSS. As type I IFN consists of 17 different subtypes, it cannot be easily assessed using a conventional ELISA. Therefore the expression of type I IFN inducible genes--the so-called type I IFN signature--is assessed in salivary gland tissue and blood from patients as a readout for type I IFN activity. In this review we discuss the potential of type I IFN as a novel biomarker for disease activity, subclassification of patients, prediction of therapy response and most importantly as a target for therapeutic intervention.
Department of Immunology, Erasmus MC Room NA 1107, 's Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Zana
Z
Brkic
Marjan A
MA
Versnel
D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000276:immunology; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D059467:Transcriptome
D015415:Biomarkers; D007370:Interferon Type I