Sjögren's syndrome (SjS) patients exhibit great phenotypical heterogeneity, reinforced by the positiveness of anti-SSA antibody. We aimed to evaluate lymphocyte subpopulations in SSA-positive (SSA+SjS) and SSA-negative (SSA-SjS) SjS patients, Sicca patients, and healthy controls (HC), and to investigate associations between lymphocyte subpopulations and disease activity in SjS.
According to the fulfilment of the ACR/EULAR 2016 classification criteria, patients were included as SjS or as Sicca. HC were selected from the Ophthalmology outpatient clinic. Lymphocyte subpopulations were characterized by flow cytometry. Statistical analysis was performed with GraphPad Prism
We included 53 SjS patients (38 SSA+ and 15 SSA-), 72 Sicca, and 24 HC. SSA+SjS patients presented increased IL-21
In SjS, a distinct lymphocyte subset distribution profile seems to be associated with positive anti-SSA. Moreover, the association between ESSDAI and IL-21