Abstract
Primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease that invades lacrimal glands, salivary glands, and other exocrine glands, but its pathogenic mechanism is still unclear. CD4+CD8+ double-positive T (DPT) cells have been discovered in recent years to play an important role in autoimmune diseases and viral infections, but the frequency and significance of DPT in primary Sjogren's syndrome are still unclear. This study detected the frequency of DPT in the peripheral blood of patients with pSS and detected the clinical indicators and cytokines in patients. We then analyzed the correlation between DPT and clinical indicators, cytokines, and disease activity scores. The results showed that the peripheral DPT frequency of pSS patients was significantly higher than that of healthy controls. The peripheral DPT frequency was negatively correlated with ESR, IgA, and IgG, and peripheral DPT frequency was positively correlated with anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Analysis of DPT and pSS disease activity scores found that DPT frequency had a negative correlation with ESSDAI and SSDAI. This study suggests that peripheral DPT may play a protective role in pSS. The frequency of peripheral DPT cells can be used as an indicator for disease activity. Regulating the expression of peripheral DPT cells is expected to become a new strategy for treatment of pSS.
Highlights
Primary Sjogren’s syndrome is a diffuse connective tissue disease characterized by invasion of lacrimal glands, salivary glands, and other exocrine glands, lymphocyte infiltration, and presence of specific autoantibodies [1, 2]
Our results showed that there was no significant difference in double-positive T (DPT) frequency between patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy and those who did not receive immunosuppressant therapy before admission (Figure 1(c))
The results showed that there was no significant difference in DPT frequency between antiSSA/SSB positive patients and negative patients
Summary
Primary Sjogren’s syndrome (pSS) is a diffuse connective tissue disease characterized by invasion of lacrimal glands, salivary glands, and other exocrine glands, lymphocyte infiltration, and presence of specific autoantibodies (antiSSA/SSB) [1, 2]. The first symptoms of pSS are diverse and clinical manifestations are complex. The typical manifestations are dry mouth and dry eyes. The systemic manifestations may include fever, fatigue, and joint pain. PSS can involve the respiratory system, blood system, digestive system, and nervous system, resulting in multiple system damage [3]. There are many abnormalities of immune function in pSS patients. The abnormal distribution of lymphocyte subsets and the imbalance of cytokines are important mechanisms for pSS [4].
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