Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the serological characteristics and immunological features of primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS).
Methods:A total of 62 patients with pSS were studied.All the cases was were diagnosed according to the American European consensus criteria (AECC) of 2002.The main clinical and immunological features were analyzed.
Results:The common initial clinical symptoms included xerostomia,xerophthalmia,hypokalemia and arthralgia.Reynaud phenomenon was rarely seen.Positive ANA and anti-SSA52 (+) antibodies were frequently detected (83.9% and 85.5%).The rates of RF titer and IgG levels were 72.6% and 79.0% respectively.The percentage of CD4
+ T cells and the ration of CD4
+/CD8
+ T cells in peripheral blood of pSS patients were lower than that of healthy controls.The expression rate of CD16
+56
+ in peripheral bloods of pSS patients (5.8±2.6)%were lower than that of reference value (10.0±3.8)%.
Conclusions:Anti-SSA-52 (+) antibody is a frequent immunological marker among pSS patients.Low CD4
+/CD8
+ T-lymphocyte ratio may be a significant risk factor for the development of lymphoma in pSS.Lower expression of CD16
+56
+ determines the extent to which the NK cells lose the immune supervision,which may increase the incidence of lymphoma in pSS patients.