Salivary and serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Salivary and serum concentrations of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) were studied in a group of patients with Sjögren's syndrome and a group suffering from dry mouth. Salivary sIL-2R levels was significantly higher (57.9+/-15.1 vs 16.7+/-4.7 pg/ml) (p < 0.05) in the group of 26 patients with Sjögren's syndrome than in the dry-mouth group. Both the salivary and the serum sIL-2R of normal controls were below the level of detection. No significantly statistical differences were noted between the concentrations of serum sIL-2R in either abnormal groups. No correlations were found between salivary or serum sIL-2R and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, the presence of various autoantibodies or the focus score from lip biopsies in the group of patients with Sjögren's syndrome. The results show that, although the salivary sIL-2R does not actually reflect the extent of inflammation, it might have an important role in the diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome.