Potential Novel Tissue Biomarkers in Salivary Glands of Patients with Sjogren's Syndrome

Background/Objectives: Primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease caused by chronic inflammation of the exocrine glands. We aimed to determine the immunohistochemical parameters that may help in the diagnosis of pSS and to determine histopathological markers for the early diagnosis of patients. Methods: Hematoxylin-eosin-stained preparations of salivary gland tissue samples of a control group consisting of 9 healthy patients and 12 patients diagnosed with non-specific chronic sialadenitis (NSCS) and a study group consisting of 39 patients diagnosed with pSS were evaluated. SSA/Ro (TRIM21), SSB/la, BAFF, enolase (ENO1), and MMP-9 antibodies were applied to the samples to assess the presence of staining in the ductal, acini, and inflammation regions. Results: In our study, mild staining with the SSA/Ro (TRIM21) antibody was observed in the ductal areas of all pSS cases, while no staining was detected in the healthy and NSCS cases (p < 0.01). Additionally, stronger staining was identified in the ductal and inflammatory areas of the pSS cases with BAFF compared to the control group. The staining for the ENO1 antibody was higher and more intense in the NSCS and pSS cases compared to those with normal salivary glands, and this difference was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.01). While mild staining was detected in the ductal areas with MMP-9 antibody in most of the NSCS and pSS cases, it was detected in 11% of the healthy cases. Conclusions: Our study suggests that SSA/Ro (TRIM21), ENO1, MMP9, and BAFF can be used to confirm the diagnosis in cases of suspicion.