Figure 1

CD138 expressing plasma cells in salivary glands of pSS patients and non-SS controls. A) CD138+ plasma cells (brown) in pSS patient with FS = 1, a pSS patient with FS = 4, in a subject with chronically inflamed glands (CIG) and a subject with normal gland (NG) histology. CD138+ plasma cells were detected interstitially as small cell clusters close to ductal and acinar epithelium in all patients and controls. In pSS glands with FS = 1, plasma cells were detected mainly in the periphery of the infiltrates, whereas in pSS glands with high FS, plasma cells were detected both in periphery and within the infiltrates. B) CD138+ cells presented as number of interstitial plasma cell per mm² or as C) percentage of CD138 positive plasma cells in the focal infiltrates. Grey bars represent FS = 1 (n = 6), black bars represent FS ≥2 (n = 10), striped bars represent chronic inflammation (n = 5) and white bars represent normal gland histology (n = 5). Results presented as mean ± SEM. Statistical analyses determined by Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Student t-test (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.005).