title: Diminished salivary epidermal growth factor secretion: a link between Sjögren's syndrome and autoimmune gastritis?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Healthy human labial salivary glands produce epidermal growth factor (EGF). In Sjögren's syndrome (SS), EGF staining is diminished. SS is also associated with chronic autoimmune corpus gastritis. We therefore hypothesized that EGF secretion would be diminished in SS and that this could affect gastric target cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  Salivary EGF secretion in SS was compared to that in healthy controls using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). EGF receptor (EGFR) immunoreactive cells in the gastric corpus of healthy human subjects were analysed using immunostaining.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Salivary secretion of EGF was diminished in SS patients (232.4, range 52.6-618.4, vs. 756.6, range 105.3-1631.6 pg/min, p = 0.002). Proton-pump positive parietal cells were mostly EGFR immunoreactive whereas very few pepsinogen I (PGI)-positive cells were EGFR positive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As EGF is relatively acid resistant, salivary gland-derived EGF might participate in an exo/endocrine mode of parietal cell maintenance in the gastric corpus. Deficiency of salivary gland-derived EGF in SS patients may cause impairment of gastric parietal cells resulting in exposure of immunogenic cryptic antigens and loss of immunological self-tolerance.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medicine , University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland.|b Department of Anatomy , University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koskenpato
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medicine , University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ainola
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medicine , University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Przybyla
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medicine , University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland.
authors.forename: V-P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Kouri
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medicine , University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Virkki
authors.affiliation: c Department of Gastroenterology , University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland.|d Helsinki University Central Hospital , Helsinki , Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koskenpato
authors.affiliation: d Helsinki University Central Hospital , Helsinki , Finland.|e Department of Pathology , University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ristimäki
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medicine , University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland.|d Helsinki University Central Hospital , Helsinki , Finland.|f ORTON Orthopaedic Hospital , ORTON Foundation , Helsinki , Finland.
authors.forename: Y T
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Konttinen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019872:Chief Cells, Gastric / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D005756:Gastritis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D010295:Parietal Cells, Gastric / Q000378:metabolism*; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor; C512478:EGFR protein, human; D066246:ErbB Receptors