T-CELL RECEPTOR V-ALPHA AND V-BETA GENE USE BY INFILTRATING T-CELLS IN LABIAL GLANDS OF PATIENTS WITH SJOGRENS-SYNDROME

Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease affecting the exocrine gla nds; it is thought to result from T-cell-mediated damage. In the labia l glands of 20 patients with Sjogren's syndrome, infiltrating T cells were immunohistochemically characterized, and T-cell receptor (TCR) ge ne expression was examined with a method based on polymerase chain rea ction. Most of these lymphocytes expressed CD3, CD4, CD45RO, and TCR a lpha beta, whereas less than 5% of them expressed CD25 and CD69. The T CR V alpha and V beta genes expressed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were diverse, whereas the TCR V alpha and V beta repertoires in the labial glands were more restricted but were still heterogeneous. T he predominantly used V alpha and V beta families in the labial glands , when compared with those in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, were found to vary in individual patients and also to differ from patient to patient. Thus the T-cell population in the labial glands was polycl onal but showed a more restricted pattern than that seen in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.