RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Activation of the Interferon Pathway in Peripheral Blood of Patients with Sjögren’s Syndrome
JF The Journal of Rheumatology
JO J Rheumatol
FD The Journal of Rheumatology
SP jrheum.100486
DO 10.3899/jrheum.100486
A1 Osamu Kimoto
A1 Jin Sawada
A1 Kumiko Shimoyama
A1 Daisuke Suzuki
A1 Satoki Nakamura
A1 Hideharu Hayashi
A1 Noriyoshi Ogawa
YR 2010
UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2010/11/12/jrheum.100486.abstract
AB Objective DNA microarray analysis and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were performed to identify key target genes in peripheral blood from patients with Sjögren’s syndrome (SS). Methods DNA microarray analysis was performed in 19 patients with SS (all women) and 10 healthy controls (5 men and 5 women) using a low-density DNA microarray system with 778 genes. For confirmation, the expression of upregulated genes was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR in another 37 SS patients (35 women and 2 men) and 9 healthy controls (8 women and 1 man). Relationships between gene signatures and various clinical measures, such as disease duration, symptoms and signs, complications, immunological findings, and salivary and lacrimal functions, were analyzed. Results Interferon-α (IFN-α)-inducible protein 27 (IFI27) showed the most significant difference between SS patients and controls in the microarray screening. We performed quantitative RT-PCR for IFI27. IFI27 gene expression level was increased in patients with SS compared with controls (p < 0.01) by real-time PCR, supporting our observations from the microarray data. The level of IFI27 was significantly correlated with serum IgG levels (r = 0.462, p < 0.01) and ß2-microglobulin (r = 0.385, p < 0.05), soluble interleukin 2 receptor (r = 0.473, p < 0.01), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r = 0.333, p < 0.05), and antinuclear antibody titer (speckled pattern; r = 0.445, p < 0.01). Conclusion Our results suggest that upregulation of IFN-inducible genes in SS patients is a systemic phenomenon, and IFN may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SS. The expression level of IFI27 could be an effective and specific biomarker associated with SS.