December 2025 to March 2026
Author: Elvis Hysa
Transcriptomic profiling of Sjögren’s disease salivary glands identifies signatures associated with both follicular and extrafollicular responses linked to rheumatoid factor and anti-La/SSB seropositivity
Pontarini et al. (10.1016/j.ard.2025.07.021) investigated salivary gland (SG) transcriptomic signatures to support stratification in Sjögren’s disease (SjD). Unsupervised gene clustering confirmed clear transcriptome segregation between sicca and SjD. Transcriptomes of SjD-SG with ELS showed mainly genes associated with germinal centre formation. Conversely, SG without ELS from patients displayed a unique extrafollicular B-cell gene set associated with type-I interferon (IFN). The identified IFN genes showed strong positive correlations with serum RF levels in 2 independent cohorts (QMUL and TRACTISS).
Giovanni Fulvio
Giovanni is a PhD student at the University of Pisa. His research is focused on salivary gland ultrasonography and the role of multi-modal imaging techniques in rheumatology, particularly in the diagnosis and management of Sjögren’s syndrome. He completed his fellowship at the Rheumatology Unit, University of Pisa, where he also is a tutor in salivary gland ultrasonography. Giovanni is actively involved in professional societies, being a member of the Società Italiana di Reumatologia, European Reference Network on Connective Tissue and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ERN ReCONNET) and of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-Committee.