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The capping of surface immunoglobulins (sIg) is a major characteristic of normal B lymphocytes. Thus, we have investigated sIg capping by peripheral blood (PB) B cells of patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and we have found a major deficiency in these patients. In 12 healthy donors (HD), 8 ± 2.8% of PB mononuclear cells were B cells (i.e. expressing the B-cell antigens CD19, CD20 and CD21 simultaneously) and more than 90% of these PB B cells were able to cap their sIg. In 12 experiments performed using PB lymphocytes from seven patients with SS, a major capping deficiency was noted with only 30% of PB B lymphocytes being able to cap sIg. This defect was not related to an expansion of the B-cell subpopulation expressing the CD5 antigen and was not observed in five patients with rheumatoid arthritis lacking SS. Capping of sIg via antigen binding (i.e. antigenic modulation) constitutes the initial signal for B-cell activation. This process is involved in anti-viral defence and could have a potential pathogenetic role in autoimmune diseases. This impaired B-cell function presently described represents an immune defect which could be important in the pathogenesis of SS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]