Among the complex of HTLV-associated diseases, Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is one of the most controversial. This work aims to detect morphological and inflammatory alterations, including clues of the presence of HTLV-1, in minor salivary glands of patients with dryness symptoms.
We have assessed HTLV-1-seropositive patients (HTLV-1 group) and patients with SS (SS group). We used formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded minor salivary gland tissue to evaluate the morphological aspects and, by means of immunohistochemistry, the presence of Tax protein, CD4, CD8 and CD20 cells. Additionally, viral particles and proviral load were analysed by PCR.
The HTLV-1 group had the highest prevalence of non-specific chronic sialadenitis (85.71%; P = 0.017) and greater amount of T CD8
The results indicate that HTLV-1-seropositive patients have different patterns of morphological/inflammatory alterations, suggesting a likely difference in the process of immune activation.