Increased salivary gland tissue expression of Fas, Fas ligand, cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated antigen 4, and programmed cell death 1 in primary Sjögren's syndrome

Abstract

The present study demonstrates a substantial increase in expression of the negative regulator molecules PD-1 and CTLA-4 and the apoptotic signal molecules Fas and FasL in patients with primary SS compared with controls, which corresponded to the immunomorphologic pattern. The results strongly indicate that these molecules have central roles in the inflammatory process in the salivary glands of patients with primary SS.