title: Analysis of novel Sjogren's syndrome autoantibodies in patients with dry eyes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dry eye is a common problem in Ophthalmology and may occur for many reasons including Sjogren's syndrome (SS). Recent studies have identified autoantibodies, anti-salivary gland protein 1 (SP1), anti-carbonic anhydrase 6 (CA6) and anti-parotid secretory protein (PSP), which occur early in the course of SS. The current studies were designed to evaluate how many patients with idiopathic dry eye and no evidence of systemic diseases from a dry eye practice have these autoantibodies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients from a dry eye clinic and normal controls were assessed by Schirmer's test for tear flow. Sera were assessed for autoantibodies using ELISA assays. Statistics was performed with Prism 7 software and student's unpaired t test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this study 60% of the dry eye patients expressed one of these autoantibodies. Only 30% expressed one of the autoantibodies associated with long-standing SS, which are included in the diagnostic criteria for SS, anti-Ro and anti-La. Patients with disease for less than 2 years and mild dry eyes did not express anti-Ro or anti-La, while 25% expressed anti-SP1. Similar observations, with smaller numbers, were made when patients had not only dry eye but also dry mouth.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Antibodies to SP1, CA6 and PSP occur in some patients with idiopathic dry eyes. Further studies will be needed to determine how many of these patients go on to develop systemic manifestations of SS. Testing for these autoantibodies may allow early recognition of patients with SS. This will lead to improved management of the patients and the development of new strategies to maintain normal lacrimal and salivary gland function in patients with SS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Everett
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Sahana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vishwanath
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cavero
authors.affiliation: Immco Diagnostics, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Dental School, SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine, Buffalo, NY, USA.|Immco Diagnostics, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Lakshmanan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Suresh
authors.affiliation: Immco Diagnostics, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kishore
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Malyavantham
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine, Buffalo, NY, USA.|Department of Neurology, SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Norah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lincoff-Cohen
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine, Buffalo, NY, USA. jambrus@buffalo.edu.|Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine, Room C281, Buffalo General Hospital, 100 High Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA. jambrus@buffalo.edu.
authors.forename: Julian L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ambrus
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D015415:Biomarkers; D007136:Immunoglobulins
keywords: Autoantibodies; Corneal abrasion; Dry eyes; Sjogren’s syndrome