Human And Viral Microrna Expression In Sjogren Syndrome

Sjogren syndrome (SS) is one of the most common autoimmune diseases, and mainly affects women. It is characterized by features of systemic autoimmunity and dysfunction and inflammation in the exocrine glands. The dysfunction of the salivary glands often causes significant morbidity and has social implications. In a significant percentage of affected patients, extraglandular manifestations lead to systemic diseases with serious medical implications as more major organs are affected. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is another major complication of SS, occurring in 5% of patients. The pathogenesis of SS has not been delineated, but it is believed that both immunologic and non-immune mechanisms are involved. In this issue of The Journal , Peng, et al , report their findings of microRNA profiling of peripheral mononuclear cells of primary SS (pSS) in a Chinese patient cohort1. Four patients with pSS and 3 healthy controls were profiled with microarrays and some of the most differentially expressed microRNA were validated with quantitative real-time PCR in a total of 33 pSS patient and 10 healthy control samples, including the samples used for … Address correspondence to Dr. Alevizos, SS and Salivary Gland Dysfunction Unit, Molecular Physiology and Therapeutics, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, 10 Center Drive, Bldg. 10, Rm 1N110, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.