Presence of microchimerism in labial salivary glands in systemic sclerosis but not in Sjogren's syndrome

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Arthritis Rheum 2002 Apr;46(4):1039-43

Presence of microchimerism in labial salivary glands in systemic

sclerosis but not in Sjogren's syndrome.

Aractingi S, Sibilia J, Meignin V, Launay D, Hachulla E, Le Danff C,

Janin A, Mariette X.

Hopital Tenon, Paris, France.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether microchimerism can be implicated in

Sjogren's syndrome (SS) by studying minor salivary glands, one of the

targets of the disease. METHODS: Labial salivary gland (LSG) biopsy

specimens from 16 female patients with primary SS and 11 with systemic

sclerosis (SSc) (a disease in which microchimerism is frequently

detected) were analyzed. All 27 women had a history of pregnancy with a

male baby. Specimens were microdissected, and polymerase chain reaction

(PCR) was performed using the unique sex-determining region Y gene

probe. RESULTS: The sensitivity of PCR for detecting male cells in LSG

was high; the presence of 3 male cells was consistently detected in DNA

extracted from a normal female LSG specimen to which male DNA had been

added, and 1 male cell was detected in 50% of specimens analyzed. Male

DNA was not found in any of the specimens from the 16 SS patients but

was detected in 5 (45%) of 11 SSc specimens (P = 0.006). No differences

in the rate of detection were found between patients with diffuse and

limited SSc (male DNA detected in 2 of 3 and 3 of 8, respectively; P =

0.55) or between patients with and those without secondary SS (1 of 6

and 4 of 5, respectively; P = 0.08). CONCLUSION: The results of our

study strengthen the possibility that microchimerism is implicated in

SSc. This is the first study to demonstrate the presence of chimeric

cells in LSG from 45% of SSc patients, independent of the presence of

secondary SS. However, microchimerism was not detected in LSG from

patients with primary SS, suggesting that the pathogenesis of the 2

diseases is different.

PMID: 11953982