Aquaporin gene therapy corrects Sjogren's syndrome phenotype in mice
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is a chronic autoimmune disease that is estimated to affect 35 million people worldwide. Currently, no effective treatments exist for Sjögren’s syndrome, and there is a limited understanding of the physiological mechanisms associated with xerostomia and hyposalivation. The present work revealed that aquaporin 5 expression, a water channel critical for salivary gland fluid secretion, is regulated by bone morphogenetic protein 6. In- creased expression of this cytokine is strongly associated with the most common symptom of primary Sjögren’s syndrome, the loss of salivary gland function. This finding led us to develop a novel ther- apy in the treatment of Sjögren’s syndrome by increasing the water permeability of the gland to restore saliva flow. Our study demon- strates that the targeted increase of gland permeability not only resulted in the restoration of secretory gland function but also re- solved the hallmark salivary gland inflammation and systemic inflam- mation associated with disease. Secretory function also increased in the lacrimal gland, suggesting this local therapy could treat the sys- temic symptoms associated with primary Sjögren’s syndrome.
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE80225 | GEO | 2016/07/20
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA318351
REPOSITORIES: GEO
ACCESS DATA