Primary Sjögren’s syndrome: Autoantibodies and their relationship to clinical manifestations and histology of minor salivary glands

Introduction/Objective

To evaluate the association between autoantibodies with clinical manifestations (extraglandular and glandular) and histopathological findings of minor salivary gland biopsy in primary Sjögren’s syndrome.

Materials and methods

Observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional study. Forty-seven patients with pSS according to the ACR/EULAR 2016 criteria were included. A face-to-face survey, a review of medical records, and the measurement of autoantibodies (Ab) anti-Ro 52, anti-Ro 60, anti-La, antinuclear antibodies (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF) IgA, IgG and IgM, and anti-alpha fodrin IgA and IgG were done. Characterization of the population and analysis of the association between clinical characteristics, autoantibodies, and histopathology were performed.

Results

Association of anti-alpha fodrin IgA and anti-Ro 52 Ab was found with pulmonary involvement (P = .014 and P = .031 respectively) and anti-La antibodies with haematological manifestations, specifically leukopenia (P = .011), lymphopenia (P = .023), and anaemia (P = .09). We found no association between the histopathological findings of the minor salivary gland biopsy and extraglandular manifestations.

Conclusions

The activation of B cells, reflected in the increased production of autoantibodies, is related to extraglandular manifestations in pSS, which is observed more frequently in patients with earlier diagnosis.