ObjectiveTo analyze the correlation of thrombopoietin (TPO) and anti-TPO antibody with thrombocytopenia in patients with primary Sjögren syndrome (PSS). MethodsWe included in our study 40 PSS patients with thrombocytopenia (group A), 22 PSS patients who once had thrombocytopenia and returned to normal (group B), 40 PSS patients with normal platelet counts (group C) and 40 healthy controls (group D) between September 2013 and October 2014. Anti-TPO antibody was detected by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and serum TPO levels were measured by ELISA. We analyzed the relationship between the assay results and the clinical manifestations and parameters. ResultsThe serum TPO levels in groups A, B, and C were (129.74±17.47) , (330.23±18.07) and (364.19±12.25) pg/mL, respectively, and they were significantly higher than that in group D [(54.04±10.71) pg/mL] (P ＜ 0.05) . The serum level of TPO was positively correlated with CRP and IgA (rs=0.224, P=0.039; rs=0.239, P=0.033) , and was negatively correlated with C4 level (rs=?0.220, P=0.041) , but it was not significantly correlated with platelet count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, the level of antiphospholipid antibodies and the titer of antinuclear antibodies (P ＞ 0.05) . The positive rate of PSS patients was 20.59% (21/102) and the rate in groups A, B, and C was respectively 17.5% (7/40) , 22.72% (5/22) , and 22.5% (9/40) . There was no statistically significant difference between the positive and negative groups in various clinical indexes (P ＞ 0.05) . ConclusionAntiTPO antibody may not be the main mechanism of thrombocytopenia in PSS patients, and there is a certain correlation between TPO and inflammatory factors.
Objective To detect the expression levels of ERdj5 and XBP1 in the salivary glands of patients with primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS), and analyze the correlation of the expression levels of ERdj5 and XBP1 with salivary gland damage and oral symptoms to explore their significance in the pathogenesis of pSS. Methods A total of 60 pSS patients in the departments of rheumatology and immunology of Xi’an Honghui Hospital and Qinghai Provincial People’s Hospital between January 2020 and June 2021were randomly selected as the case group, and 20 healthy participants in Qinghai Provincial People’s Hospital in the same period were randomly selected as the control group. The mRNA and protein expression levels of ERdj5 and XBP1 in salivary gland tissues were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, respectively, and their correlation with histopathology, salivary flow rate, dry mouth degree, and clinical test indicators were analyzed. Results The mRNA and protein expression levels of ERdj5 and XBP1 in the case group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.001). The ERdj5 mRNA expression was positively correlated with the XBP1 mRNA expression in the case group (rs=0.936, P<0.001). The expression levels of ERdj5 mRNA and XBP1 mRNA in the case group were positively correlated with the pathological grade of labial gland (rs=0.344, P<0.001; rs=0.401, P<0.001), dry mouth degree (rs=0.683, P<0.001; rs=0.730, P<0.001), anti-Ro/SSA antibody (rs=0.363, P<0.001; rs=0.350, P<0.001), anti-La/SSB antibody (rs=0.506, P<0.001; rs=0.471, P<0.001), and European League Against Rheumatism Sjogren’s Syndrome Disease Activity Index (rs=0.782, P<0.001; rs=0.865, P<0.001), and were negatively correlated with salivary flow rate (rs=–0.445, P<0.001; rs=–0.526, P<0.001). Conclusion The expression levels of ERdj5 and XBP1 in salivary glands are increased in pSS patients, and they are related to disease activity, anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB autoantibodies, damage degree of salivary gland and oral symptoms of patients.