Journal Article

Clinical Implications of Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) and Anti-Ro/Anti-La Antibody Profile in Patients with Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study of a National Egyptian Cohort

Hammam, Osman, Ismail, Faten, Abdelgalil, Khaled, Emad, Yasser, Gheita, Tamer, Hammam, Nevin, Ibrahim, Amira, El Shereef, Rawhya, Elwan, Shereen, Tharwat, Samar, Abdellatif, Eiman, ElBayumi, Omnia, Mohammed, Fatma, Saadany, Hanan, Abady, Wael

2025

Overview

Primary Sjögren's Syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease that predominantly impacts the exocrine glands. It is characterized by a diverse clinical manifestation and the existence of various autoantibodies. There is a lack of studies assessing the primary pSS phenome driven by anti-Sjögren syndrome autoantibodies in Africa, particularly in Egypt. This study aims to evaluate the clinical implications of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti-Ro/anti-La autoantibodies in an Egyptian national cohort of pSS patients. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of pSS patients, comparing clinical manifestations and disease severity based on serological profiles. A total of 301 pSS patients (mean age: 45.6±10.2 years; F:M ratio 7.4:1) were included. Patients with positive ANA (59.5%) had a higher prevalence of anti-Ro (p=0.001) and anti-La (p=0.0001) antibodies, along with lower rates of dry eyes (p=0.04) and enlarged parotid glands (p=0.001). Corticosteroid and azathioprine use was more frequent in ANA-positive patients (p=0.017, p=0.003). Double-positive anti-Ro/anti-La patients exhibited higher rates of dry mouth (p=0.045), articular manifestations (p<0.0001), fibromyalgia (p=0.001), RF positivity (p<0.001), and C4 consumption (p<0.001). Patients with pSS exhibit distinct clinical and laboratory profiles based on their autoantibody status, emphasizing the importance of immunological assessment for disease management.

• Publisher: Dove Medical Press Limited,Taylor & Francis Ltd,Dove Press
• Subject: Age / anti-La / anti-Ro / Antibodies / antinuclear antibody / Autoantibodies / Autoimmunity / Azathioprine / Care and treatment / Cross-sectional studies / Data collection / Development and progression / Disease / Diseases / Egypt / Ethics / Fibromyalgia / Gender / Genotype & phenotype / Laboratories / Lupus / Medical diagnosis / primary Sjögren’s syndrome / Rheumatoid arthritis / Rheumatology / Scleroderma / Variance analysis