title: Upregulated expression level of the growth factor, progranulin, is associated with the development of primary Sjögren's syndrome.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression and effect of progranulin (PGRN) in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). In total, 26 newly diagnosed pSS patients and 26 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. The serum levels of PGRN and the inflammatory factor, interleukin-6 (IL-6), were detected using ELISA. In addition, the mRNA expression levels of these molecules were detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The serum levels of PGRN and IL-6 in the pSS patients increased significantly compared with the healthy controls (P<0.05). During the remission stages, the levels of PGRN and IL-6 were comparable to those of the healthy controls. The serum level of PGRN in the pSS patients was shown to correlate with that of IL-6 in the pre-treatment and post-treatment stages. PGRN was upregulated in the pSS patients, indicating a possible role of PGRN in the pathogenesis and development of pSS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250033, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ni
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for Oncology, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qilin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xingfu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: interleukin-6; primary Sjögren’s syndrome; progranulin