Examining the Immunological Process of Autoimmune Patients

Overview

Sjögren's syndrome (SjS) is an autoimmune disease characterized primarily by exocrine gland dysfunction, specifically of the salivary and lacrimal glands, resulting in dry mouth and dry eyes symptoms. It can be systemic by affecting other organs including the gastrointestinal tract, skin, lungs, vasculature, kidneys, bladder and vagina. Involvement of the musculature can lead to fibromyalgia-like symptoms and chronic fatigue, while approximately 20% of patients develop various neuropathies, including sensory, peripheral, cranial and myelopathic neuropathies exhibited by cognitive impairments such as dementia, lack of concentration, memory loss and various psychiatric disorders. Like most autoimmune connective tissue diseases, SjS shows a sexual dimorphism with women affected 10-times more frequently than men, suggesting a role for sex hormones in disease susceptibility or progression. One common feature of SjS is it infiltration of mononuclear cells into the salivary and lacrimal glands, aggregating into clusters referred to as lymphocytic foci (LF). Critical to the studies proposed is the fact that a predominant cell population of LF is the pathogenic TH17 cell that produces IL-17 cytokine and autoreactive B cells reactive to M3R, Ro, and La autoantigens. The goal of this study is characterize the change in receptor gene repertoires of autoreactive B and T cells at different time points during the disease process and examine the correlation with various disease parameters.

Blood from patient and healthy controls will be collected once every 3-6 months. White blood cells from blood samples will be separated. Tests will be done to see which substances these cells make. Using sequencing techniques, the investigators will determine the genetic code of the receptors expressed on these cells. The investigators plan to test how these cells change over the period of at least 3 years at different visits. In addition, the investigators will check how these changes relate to patients' general medical history relevant to autoimmune disease, lab results and physical examinations and exams pertinent to the diagnosis of autoimmune disease, and psychosocial data.

Conditions