Cell apoptosis and proliferation in salivary glands of Sjögren's syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Sjögren's syndrome (SS) occurs associated with parotid neoplasm, non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma, which could impair the condition or be life-threatening for patients. The aim of this work was to analyze cell proliferation and apoptosis modifications in acinar, ductal and inflammatory infiltrate in salivary glands (SG) in patients with Sjögren Syndrome, keratoconjunctivitis, or stomatitis sicca or in healthy subjects, to establish parameters that indicate the likelihood of malignancy of the disease in populations at risk. METHODS: A study was performed with n = 58 histological samples of lower lip SG from patients diagnosed with SS, keratoconjunctivitis, or stomatitis sicca (SICCA) and from healthy subjects (C). Ki67 and caspase-3 immunolabeling were performed. RESULTS: The most important result was significant differences between the three study groups in Ki67 and caspase-3 markers (P < 0.0001) in infiltrated lymphocytes. CONCLUSION: The results of this work are indicative of a high degree of proliferation (85%) in infiltrated lymphocytes (IL) associated with SS which, according the literature, could be considered a risk. Furthermore, the markers used in this work are widely known and represent a lower cost than others and can be used to determine risk groups within the population of SS patients, enabling their follow-up.

Correlación de hallazgos serológicos y compuestos orgánicos en saliva en el Síndrome de Sjõgren / Correlation of serological findings and saliva’s organic compounds in Sjõgren’s Syndrome

Introducción: El objetivo del presente trabajo es evaluar los cambios en flujo y composición orgánica en saliva, así como la presencia de anticuerpos anti Ro/SSA y La/SSB séricos y salivales y su implicancia en el diagnóstico no invasivo del SS. Diseño del estudio: Estudio de corte transversal, de 73 pacientes distribuidos en los siguientes grupos experimentales: Síndrome de Sjõgren primario (SSp) (n = 15), SS secundario (SSs) (n = 17), boca seca y ojo seco sin Síndrome de Sjõgren (BO) (n = 20), y controles sanos (C) (n = 21). Se realizó una determinación del flujosalivalbasal y una toma de muestras de saliva para la medición de proteínas totales, IgA, urea y anticuerpos. Se determinaron anticuerpos anti Ro/SSA y La/SSB en muestras de suero y saliva. Resultados: El flujo salival en SSp, SSs, BO fue significativamente menor (p < 0,001) comparado con C. La composición salival de SS mostró modificaciones de componentes estudiados. Los anticuerpos anti Ro/SSA y anti La/SSB aparecieron con mayor frecuencia en suero y saliva en pacientes con SS en comparación con BO y C, siendo la frecuencia de positividad superior en suero en comparación con saliva. Conclusión: La determinación de anticuerpos Ro/SSA en saliva podrían ayudar a diagnosticar a pacientes con xerostomía como el Síndrome de Sjõgren.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in flow andorganic composition in saliva, the presence of anti Ro/SSA and La/SSBantibodies in serum and saliva and its implication in the noninvasivediagnosis of SS.Study Design: Cross sectional study, 73 patients divided into four experimentalgroups: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) (n = 15), secondarySS (sSS) (n = 17), dry eye and dry mouth syndrome without Sjögren's(DEMS) (n = 20) and healthy controls (C) (n = 21). We performed a determinationof basal salivary flow and saliva sampling for measurement oftotal protein, IgA, urea and antibodies. We determined anti Ro/SSA andLa/SSB in serum and saliva.Results: The salivary flow in pSS, sSS, DEMS patients was significantlylower (p <0.001) compared with C. The composition of SS salivary componentsstudied showed changes. The anti Ro/SSA and anti La/SSB occurredmore frequently in serum and saliva in SS patients comparedwith DEMS and C, the frecuency of positivity was higher in serum thanin saliva.Conclusion: The determination in saliva of antibodies Ro/SSA may helpdiagnose patients with xerostomy as Sjögren's Syndrome.