Sjogren's syndrome: Autoantibodies to cellular antigens - Clinical and molecular aspects

Autoantibodies to cellular autoantigens are usually found in sera of patien ts with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Patients with Sjogren's syn drome (SS) frequently present autoantibodies to both organ and non-organ-sp ecific autoantigens. The most commonly detected autoantibodies are those di rected against the ribonucleoproteins Ro/SSA and La/SSB. The presence of th e antibodies in SS is associated with early disease onset, longer disease d uration, parotid gland enlargement, higher frequency of extraglandular mani festations and more intense lymphocytic infiltration of the minor salivary glands. Over the past several years, the structure and function of these au toantigens have been extensively studied. Several centers, using different techniques, have investigated the B cell epitopes on the protein components Po 60 kD, Ro 52kD, and La 48 kD. Finally, increased evidence of direct inv olvement of anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of tissue injury has been contributed by several studies. Copyright(C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.