F. Carlucci

R. Priori

VALESINI, Guido

English

Archivio della ricerca- Università di Roma La Sapienza

Letters to the EditorRheumatology 2003;42:486–487doi:10.1093/rheumatology/keg105Microchimerism in Sjögren’s syndromeSIR, We have read with great interest the article by Endoet al. w1x about a possible contribution of fetal micro-chimerism to the pathogenesis of Sjögren’s syndrome(SS). For the first time, fetal cells were identified insalivary gland tissue obtained from SS patients usingboth the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in situhybridization. In our previous work w2x, we searchedfor male microchimerism in minor salivary glandsobtained from six women with SS and at least onemale pregnancy or miscarriage. These women had noRheumatology 2003;42:486–495All articles available online at www.rheumatology.oupjournals.org486 2003 British Society for Rheumatology at UNIVERSITA STUDI LA SAPIENZA on June 17, 2013http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/Downloaded from other possible causes of microchimerism (transfusion ortransplantation). We used the PCR to look for a specificY-chromosome sequence, SRY, and for the genehomologous to amelogenin in the DNA extracted fromthe biopsies of minor salivary glands. We did not findany male DNA either in the tissue from women withSS or in the controls. Similarly, Aractingi et al. w3x couldnot detect male chimeric cells in labial salivary biopsyspecimens from patients with SS and a previous malepregnancy, while microchimerism was found in lip sali-vary gland biopsies from patients with systemic sclerosisand a similar obstetric history, suggesting that the twodiseases differ in their pathogenesis.What can be the reason for the discrepancies betweendifferent reports? In our work the mean intervalbetween the male pregnancy and the biopsy was 27 yr(range 21–43), but this interval is not given in the articleby Endo et al. It is possible that a shorter lapse of timeallows or makes easier the detection of fetal cells intissues. Moreover, the authors did not specify if thewomen examined had any other possible source ofmicrochimerism, such as transfusion, which could beresponsible for their positive result. Another explanationfor the discrepancy between this work andprevious studiesis the different genetic background of the cases: thepersistence of fetal microchimerism seems to be associatedwithHLA-DQA1*0501 in both themother and the son w4x.The HLA relationship of host and donor cells contributesto the tolerance of microchimerism and possibly tosusceptibility to some autoimmune diseases. In SS thecorrelation between HLA genotype and microchimerismhas not yet been addressed.Inconclusive evidence about microchimerism and SShas been reported w1–3x. In order to obtain definitiveresults, it would be necessary to standardize protocolsand select adequate case and control populations. Thephenomenon of microchimerism needs to be assessedquantitatively, with consideration of genetic factors.F. CARLUCCI, R. PRIORI, G. VALESINICattedra di Reumatologia, Dipartimento di Clinica eTerapia Medica Applicata, Università ‘La Sapienza’,Rome, ItalyAccepted 12 August 2002Correspondence to: F. Carlucci. E-mail: fracarlu@tin.it1. Endo Y, Negishi I, Ishikawa O. Possible contribution ofmicrochimerism to the pathogenesis of Sjögren’s syndrome.Rheumatology 2002;41:490–5.2. Carlucci F, Priori R, Alessandri C, Stoppacciaro A, Valesini G. Ychromosome microchimerism in Sjögren’s syndrome. Ann RheumDis 2001;60:1078–9.3. Aractingi S, Sibilia J, Meignin V et al. Presence of microchimerism inlabial salivary glands in systemic sclerosis but not in Sjogren’ssyndrome. Arthritis Rheum 2002;46:1039–43.4. Lambert NC, Evans PC, Hashizumi TL et al. Cutting edge: persistentfetal microchimerism in T lymphocytes is associated with HLA-DQA1*0501: implications in autoimmunity. J Immunol2000;164:5545–8.Letters to the Editor 487 2003 British Society for Rheumatology at UNIVERSITA STUDI LA SAPIENZA on June 17, 2013http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/Downloaded from 

Microchimerism in Sjögren's syndrome.

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Microchimerism in Sjögren's syndrome.

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