Immune Netw.  2020 Oct;20(5):e39. 10.4110/in.2020.20.e39.

Type I Interferon Increases Inflammasomes Associated Pyroptosis in the Salivary Glands of Patients with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome

Affiliations
  • 1Rheumatism Research Center, Catholic Research Institute of Medical Science, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
  • 2Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic and systemic autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltration in the exocrine glands. In SS, type I IFN has a pathogenic role, and recently, inflammasome activation has been observed in both immune and non-immune cells. However, the relationship between type I IFN and inflammasome-associated pyroptosis in SS has not been studied. We measured IL-18, caspase-1, and IFN-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) in saliva and serum, and compared whether the expression levels of inflammasome and pyroptosis components, including absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2), NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC), caspase-1, gasdermin D (GSDMD), and gasdermin E (GSDME), in minor salivary gland (MSG) are related to the expression levels of type I IFN signature genes. Expression of type I IFN signature genes was correlated with mRNA levels of caspase-1 and GSDMD in MSG. In confocal analysis, the expression of caspase-1 and GSDMD was higher in salivary gland epithelial cells (SGECs) from SS patients. In the type I IFN-treated human salivary gland epithelial cell line, the expression of caspase-1 and GSDMD was increased, and pyroptosis was accelerated in a caspase-dependent manner upon inflammasome activation. In conclusion, we demonstrate that type I IFN may contribute to inflammasome-associated pyroptosis of the SGECs of SS patients, suggesting another pathogenic role of type I IFN in SS in terms of target tissue -SGECs destruction.

Keyword

Sjogren's Syndrome; Pyroptosis; Inflammasomes; Type I interferon; Salivary gland epithelial cell (SGEC)
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