{"title":"Association of interferon regulatory factor 8 dysregulation with dry eye in Sjögren's syndrome.","authors":"Jiao Wang, Guang-Hong Chu, Zi-Huan Wang, Xiao-Yu Cai, Si-Yuan Shi, Qi-Ping Qing, Qi Zhang","doi":"10.18240/ijo.2025.08.05","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>To investigate the expression of interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with Sjögren's syndrome-related dry eye (SSDE) and to explore their correlation with clinical features, dendritic cell activation, and serological indicators.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 53 SSDE patients and 62 non-Sjögren's syndrome dry eye (NSSDE) patients were enrolled. Demographic and clinical data were collected, and comprehensive ophthalmic examinations were performed, including the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaires, Schirmer I test (SIT), tear break-up time (TBUT), corneal fluorescein staining score (CFS), and <i>in vivo</i> confocal microscopy (IVCM). PBMCs were isolated, and IRFs expression levels were analyzed using Western blotting (WB) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Serological indicators, including antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti-Ro60, anti-Ro52, and anti-La autoantibodies, were detected. Statistical analyses evaluated correlations between IRFs expression and clinical parameters.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared to NSSDE, the relative mRNA and protein expression of the IRF-8 was significantly upregulated in patients with SSDE (<i>P</i><0.001), whereas no significant differences were observed in IRF-1, IRF-3, IRF-5, and IRF-7 (<i>P</i>=0.12, <i>P</i>=0.10, <i>P</i>=0.66, <i>P</i>=0.96). Correlation analysis revealed that IRF-8 expression was positively associated with CFS and OSDI scores (<i>r</i>=0.57, <i>r</i>=0.38, both <i>P</i><0.05). Moreover, IRF-8 expression correlated with corneal dendritic cell (DC) density and size, and the number of dendrites (<i>r</i>=0.43, <i>r</i>=0.40, <i>r</i>=0.65, all <i>P</i><0.05). IRF-8 expression was significantly elevated in patients positive for anti-Ro60, anti-Ro52 and anti-La autoantibodies (<i>P</i><0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In SSDE, IRF-8 is upregulated and associated with clinical features, DC activation, and serological indicators. These findings suggest that IRF-8 plays a critical role in SSDE pathogenesis and may serve as a potential therapeutic target for diagnosis and treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":14312,"journal":{"name":"International journal of ophthalmology","volume":"18 8","pages":"1456-1463"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12311448/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International journal of ophthalmology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.18240/ijo.2025.08.05","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"OPHTHALMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Aim: To investigate the expression of interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with Sjögren's syndrome-related dry eye (SSDE) and to explore their correlation with clinical features, dendritic cell activation, and serological indicators.
Methods: A total of 53 SSDE patients and 62 non-Sjögren's syndrome dry eye (NSSDE) patients were enrolled. Demographic and clinical data were collected, and comprehensive ophthalmic examinations were performed, including the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaires, Schirmer I test (SIT), tear break-up time (TBUT), corneal fluorescein staining score (CFS), and in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM). PBMCs were isolated, and IRFs expression levels were analyzed using Western blotting (WB) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Serological indicators, including antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti-Ro60, anti-Ro52, and anti-La autoantibodies, were detected. Statistical analyses evaluated correlations between IRFs expression and clinical parameters.
Results: Compared to NSSDE, the relative mRNA and protein expression of the IRF-8 was significantly upregulated in patients with SSDE (P<0.001), whereas no significant differences were observed in IRF-1, IRF-3, IRF-5, and IRF-7 (P=0.12, P=0.10, P=0.66, P=0.96). Correlation analysis revealed that IRF-8 expression was positively associated with CFS and OSDI scores (r=0.57, r=0.38, both P<0.05). Moreover, IRF-8 expression correlated with corneal dendritic cell (DC) density and size, and the number of dendrites (r=0.43, r=0.40, r=0.65, all P<0.05). IRF-8 expression was significantly elevated in patients positive for anti-Ro60, anti-Ro52 and anti-La autoantibodies (P<0.05).
Conclusion: In SSDE, IRF-8 is upregulated and associated with clinical features, DC activation, and serological indicators. These findings suggest that IRF-8 plays a critical role in SSDE pathogenesis and may serve as a potential therapeutic target for diagnosis and treatment.
期刊介绍：
· International Journal of Ophthalmology-IJO (English edition) is a global ophthalmological scientific publication
and a peer-reviewed open access periodical (ISSN 2222-3959 print, ISSN 2227-4898 online).
This journal is sponsored by Chinese Medical Association Xi’an Branch and obtains guidance and support from
WHO and ICO (International Council of Ophthalmology). It has been indexed in SCIE, PubMed,
PubMed-Central, Chemical Abstracts, Scopus, EMBASE , and DOAJ. IJO JCR IF in 2017 is 1.166.
IJO was established in 2008, with editorial office in Xi’an, China. It is a monthly publication. General Scientific
Advisors include Prof. Hugh Taylor (President of ICO); Prof.Bruce Spivey (Immediate Past President of ICO);
Prof.Mark Tso (Ex-Vice President of ICO) and Prof.Daiming Fan (Academician and Vice President,
Chinese Academy of Engineering.
International Scientific Advisors include Prof. Serge Resnikoff (WHO Senior Speciatist for Prevention of
blindness), Prof. Chi-Chao Chan (National Eye Institute, USA) and Prof. Richard L Abbott (Ex-President of
AAO/PAAO) et al.
Honorary Editors-in-Chief: Prof. Li-Xin Xie(Academician of Chinese Academy of
Engineering/Honorary President of Chinese Ophthalmological Society); Prof. Dennis Lam (President of APAO) and
Prof. Xiao-Xin Li (Ex-President of Chinese Ophthalmological Society).
Chief Editor: Prof. Xiu-Wen Hu (President of IJO Press).
Editors-in-Chief: Prof. Yan-Nian Hui (Ex-Director, Eye Institute of Chinese PLA) and
Prof. George Chiou (Founding chief editor of Journal of Ocular Pharmacology & Therapeutics).
Associate Editors-in-Chief include:
Prof. Ning-Li Wang (President Elect of APAO);
Prof. Ke Yao (President of Chinese Ophthalmological Society) ;
Prof.William Smiddy (Bascom Palmer Eye instituteUSA) ;
Prof.Joel Schuman (President of Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology,USA);
Prof.Yizhi Liu (Vice President of Chinese Ophtlalmology Society);
Prof.Yu-Sheng Wang (Director of Eye Institute of Chinese PLA);
Prof.Ling-Yun Cheng (Director of Ocular Pharmacology, Shiley Eye Center, USA).
IJO accepts contributions in English from all over the world. It includes mainly original articles and review articles,
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