Arthritis & Clinical Immunology Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Genes & Human Disease Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Clin Immunol. 2023 Feb;247:109243. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2023.109243. Epub 2023 Jan 24.
Vimentin is a ubiquitously present Type III intermediate filament protein, often targeted by autoimmune responses in multiple rheumatic disorders. Although previous studies have reported anti-vimentin antibodies in Sjögren's disease (SjD) patients, the clinical significance of such antibodies is unknown. To address this issue, the presence of anti-vimentin antibodies was determined in serum samples from a well-characterized cohort of primary SjD patients, non-SjD Sicca, and healthy controls. The occurrence of anti-vimentin antibodies and their association with different clinical features of the disease were evaluated. Anti-vimentin antibodies were detected in 24% of primary SjD patients, compared to 4% in non-SjD sicca patients and 3% in healthy controls. In primary SjD patients, higher levels of anti-vimentin antibodies were significantly associated with reduced saliva and tear flow and severe ocular surface damage indicators. The anti-vimentin antibody levels did not show significant associations with the presence or absence of other autoantibodies like ANA, RF, and anti-Ro/La. Our data suggest that the anti-vimentin antibody specificity arises in a subset of primary SjD patients and is associated with oral and ocular features of the disease. Anti-vimentin can potentially serve as a novel biomarker for evaluating the severity of salivary and lacrimal gland dysfunction in primary SjD.
波形蛋白是一种普遍存在的 III 型中间丝蛋白，常成为多种风湿性疾病中自身免疫反应的靶标。尽管先前的研究已经报道了干燥综合征（SjD）患者存在抗波形蛋白抗体，但这些抗体的临床意义尚不清楚。为了解决这个问题，我们在一组特征明确的原发性 SjD 患者、非 SjD 干燥症和健康对照组的血清样本中确定了抗波形蛋白抗体的存在。评估了抗波形蛋白抗体的发生情况及其与疾病不同临床特征的关联。与非 SjD 干燥症患者（4%）和健康对照组（3%）相比，原发性 SjD 患者中抗波形蛋白抗体的检出率为 24%。在原发性 SjD 患者中，较高水平的抗波形蛋白抗体与唾液和泪液流量减少以及严重的眼表损害指标显著相关。抗波形蛋白抗体水平与其他自身抗体如 ANA、RF 和抗 Ro/La 的存在与否无显著关联。我们的数据表明，抗波形蛋白抗体特异性出现在原发性 SjD 患者的亚组中，与疾病的口腔和眼部特征相关。抗波形蛋白抗体可能成为评估原发性 SjD 患者唾液腺和泪腺功能障碍严重程度的新型生物标志物。
