Toll-like receptor 10 expression in B cells is negatively correlated with the progression of primary Sjögren's disease

Abstract

Primary Sjögren's Disease (pSjD) is considered a B cell-mediated disease. Toll-like receptor 10 (TLR10) is highly expressed in human B cells, indicating that TLR10 probably plays a vital role in pSjD. We examined TLR10 expression in peripheral B subsets of pSjD patients and analyzed their association with disease activity. We observed that TLR10 expression in total, naïve, memory, and switched memory B cells was significantly increased in low-activity pSjD patients as compared with healthy controls and high-activity patients. TLR10 expression in the above mentioned B subsets (except naïve B) was negatively correlated with serum levels of anti-SSA antibody and BAFF, respectively. Moreover, a higher proportion of high-activity pSjD patients was observed in TLR10 low- than high-expressed patients. Our study concluded that TLR10 expression in CD19⁺ B and memory B was negatively correlated with pSjD disease activity, suggesting that TLR10 might take part in the progression of pSjD.

Keywords: Autoantibodies; B cells; B-cell-activating factor of the tumour necrosis factor family; Primary Sjögren's disease; Toll-like receptor 10.