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Decreased expression of TIGIT on CD14 + monocytes correlates with clinical features and laboratory parameters of patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome

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Clinical Rheumatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of T-cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT) in peripheral circulation of primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) and its role in the development of pSS.

Methods

The expression of TIGIT on T cells, B cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and CD14 + monocytes was detected by flow cytometry in pSS and healthy control (HC). The correlations between expression of TIGIT and clinical features and laboratory parameters of pSS were analyzed. Meanwhile, we analyzed the change in expression of TIGIT before and after treatment, and its role in the prognosis of pSS treatment was evaluated.

Results

The expression of TIGIT on CD3 + , CD4 + , and CD8 + T cells increased and decreased on CD14 + monocytes in pSS compared to HC; however, there was no significance of B lymphocytes and NK cells. The correlation analysis between the expression of TIGIT on T lymphocytes and CD14 + monocytes and clinical features of pSS showed that the decrease in TIGIT expression on CD14 + monocytes was more closely related to pSS. The expression of TIGIT + CD14 + monocytes negatively correlated with the disease activity of pSS. The expression of TIGIT + CD14 + monocytes of pSS with arthralgia, fatigue, decayed tooth, xerostomia, interstitial lung disease, anti-Ro52 positive, and high IgG decreased compared to that in negative patients. Furthermore, it was significantly lower in active patients than in nonactive patients. After treatment, the expression of TIGIT + CD14 + monocytes tended to increase.

Conclusion

Our study suggested that decreased TIGIT expression on CD14 + monocytes was associated with the clinical manifestations, disease activity, and prognosis of pSS patients. TIGIT + CD14 + monocytes may present as a potential target and a biomarker of the prognosis for immunomodulatory therapy in pSS.

Key Points

• The expression of TIGIT+CD14+ monocytes significantly decreased in pSS patients compared to HC.

• There was a negative correlation between TIGIT+CD14+ monocytes and the disease activity of pSS.

• TIGIT+CD14+ monocyte expression was associated with the clinical manifestations, autoantibodies, IgG, and prognosis of pSS patients.

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Data availability

The data sets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding authors on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the platform provided by the Jiangsu Institute of Clinical Immunology and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Clinical Immunology. We are grateful for the help provided by all departments of rheumatology in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University.

Funding

The study was funded by the Science and Technology Programme of Suzhou (SLJ2021009), the Natural Science Key Project of Bengbu Medical College (2022byzd070), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81873876), and the Gusu Talent Project of Suzhou (nos. GSWS2020011 and GSWS2020018).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Ping Zhao, Cheng Peng and Xin Chang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, No. 188 Shizi St, Suzhou, 215006, Jiangsu, China

    Ping Zhao, Cheng Peng, Xin Chang, Xiuyuan Feng & Jian Wu

  2. Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China

    Ping Zhao & Chao Sun

  3. Jiangsu Institute of Clinical Immunology & Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China

    Xin Chang, Yu Shen & Cuiping Liu

  4. Department of Dermatology, The Affiliated Changshu Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Suzhou, China

    Wei Cheng

  5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China

    Yanhong Yang

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Contributions

P.Z., CP.L., and X.C. designed the study, conducted the experiment, performed the data analysis, and wrote the manuscript. C.P., W.C., and XY.F. participated in the sample and clinical data collection. YH.Y. and C.S. participated in patient enrollment and disease activity evaluation. Y.S. assisted the experiment of this study. J.W. and CP.L helped optimize the research, proofread the paper, and revised the manuscript. All authors helped with the final approval of the version.

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Correspondence to Cuiping Liu or Jian Wu.

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Jian Wu is the first corresponding author, and Cuiping Liu is the co-corresponding author.

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Zhao, P., Peng, C., Chang, X. et al. Decreased expression of TIGIT on CD14 + monocytes correlates with clinical features and laboratory parameters of patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome. Clin Rheumatol 43, 297–306 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-023-06759-6

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