@article {MORAWIETZ2694, author = {LARS MORAWIETZ and LORENA MARTINEZ-GAMBOA and SONJA SCHEFFLER and GERT HAUSDORF and ANJA DANKOF and ULRIKE KUCKELKORN and THOMAS DOERNER and KARL EGERER and GERD-R. BURMESTER and DENISE L. FAUSTMAN and EUGEN FEIST}, title = {Expression of Proteasomal Immunosubunit {\ss}1i Is Dysregulated in Inflammatory Infiltrates of Minor Salivary Glands in Sj{\"o}gren{\textquoteright}s Syndrome}, volume = {36}, number = {12}, pages = {2694--2703}, year = {2009}, doi = {10.3899/jrheum.081098}, publisher = {The Journal of Rheumatology}, abstract = {Objective. Minor salivary gland specimens were analyzed to investigate dysregulation of the proteasome system in patients with Sj{\"o}gren{\textquoteright}s syndrome (SS) and patients with sicca syndrome.Methods. Labial biopsy specimens from 17 patients with SS and 11 patients with non-autoimmunesicca syndrome were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for expression of the inducible proteasomal subunits {\ss}1i, {\ss}2i, and {\ss}5i. The infiltrating subsets of lymphocytes were characterized using immunofluorescence stainings against the cell-surface markers CD20 and CD27. Two-dimensional electrophoresis and immunoblotting were used for detection of the proteasomal subunits {\ss}1 and {\ss}1i in peripheral blood monocyte cells. Gene expression of the constitutive subunits {\ss}1, {\ss}2, and {\ss}5 and the corresponding inducible subunits {\ss}1i, {\ss}2i, and {\ss}5i was further investigated at the mRNA level in small lip biopsies using real-time polymerase chain reaction.Results. The expression of {\ss}1i in infiltrating and peripheral immune cells was altered in patients with SS compared to patients with non-autoimmune sicca syndrome and healthy controls. No significant differences were found in {\ss}2i and {\ss}5i expression between the same groups in small lip biopsies. Chisholm-Mason grade and {\ss}1i expression were found to be inversely correlated (Spearman r = -0.461, p = 0.014). The phenotype and distribution of the lymphocytic infiltrate showed no differences between patients with primary and secondary SS regardless of {\ss}1i expression.Conclusion. The proteasomal {\ss}1i subunit is dysregulated in peripheral white blood cells and in inflammatory infiltrates of minor salivary glands in patients with SS.}, issn = {0315-162X}, URL = {https://www.jrheum.org/content/36/12/2694}, eprint = {https://www.jrheum.org/content/36/12/2694.full.pdf}, journal = {The Journal of Rheumatology} }