[Pathophysiology of primary Sjögren's syndrome].

Primary Sgögren's syndrome (SSP) is one of the most common connective tissue disorder with an estimated prevalence between 0.6 and 1.7% of the general population. Lymphocytic infiltration of salivary gland is easily accessible favoring the diagnosis, and clinical and fundamental research. However, while many advances have been obtained in the recent decades, the pathophysiology of SSP remains unclear combining environmental factors with genetic predisposition. A central role tends to be attributed to salivary gland epithelial cells, originally designated as "innocent bystanders" and to B cells through the intervention of survey factors like BAFF. New T cells subsets are also carefully studied, particularly natural T regulatory and Th17 cells. They could indeed represent new therapeutic targets.
(Copyright © 2014 Société nationale française de médecine interne (SNFMI). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.)