Immunophenotypic Profiling Reveals Circulating Lymphocyte Dysregulation in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate peripheral T and B cell subset alterations in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and their associations with disease activity (ESSDAI).

METHODS

This study enrolled 43 patients with pSS and 46 healthy controls (HCs). Demographic data and clinical manifestations were collected for all participants. Flow cytometry was utilized to detect the frequencies of T and B cell subsets in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

RESULTS

Primary Sjögren's syndrome patients exhibited elevated naïve CD4+ T cells, central memory CD4+ T cells, virus-specific CD8+ T cells, Th2/Th17 cells, total B cells, and CD21-/low B cells. Conversely, terminally differentiated/exhausted CD4+ T cells, Th1/Tc1 cells, and plasma cells were reduced. ESSDAI correlated positively with Tc cells and CD21-/low B cells and inversely with plasma cells.

CONCLUSIONS

T and B cell dysregulation may drive immune dysfunction in pSS, with specific subsets linked to disease severity.