Active immunological profile is associated with systemic Sjögren's syndrome

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Rheumatology
• Clinical Medicine

Background:

• Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease with a complex immunological profile.
• Understanding the evolution of this profile is crucial for managing pSS activity and long-term outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the immunological profile evolution in primary Sjögren's syndrome.
• To assess the impact of the immunological profile on pSS activity and long-term patient outcomes.
• To analyze data from a bicentric cohort of 445 French pSS patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study design.
• Analysis of immunological markers including anti-SSA, anti-SSB, and rheumatoid factor (RF).
• Evaluation of cryoglobulinemia and its associations.

Main Results:

• 212 patients were Sjögren's syndrome A (SSA) positive; 131 were both SSA and Sjögren's syndrome B (SSB) positive.
• Cryoglobulinemia was present in 15% of patients and associated with multi-systemic involvement, lymphoma, and pSS-related death.
• An active systemic profile (hypergammaglobulinemia, RF, anti-SSA, anti-SSB positivity) correlated with increased corticosteroid and hydroxychloroquine use.

Conclusions:

• Patients with an active immunological profile experience systemic complications.
• This subset of patients often requires immunosuppressive drug utilization.
• Polyclonal B-cell activation is a characteristic of the active immunological profile in pSS.