Development of Autoimmune Exocrinopathy Resembling Sjögren’s Syndrome in Estrogen-Deficient Mice of Healthy Background

Although a number of autoimmune diseases are known to develop in postmenopausal women, the mechanisms by which estrogen deficiency influences autoimmune lesions remain unclear. We speculate that antiestrogenic actions might be a potent factor in the formation of pathogenic autoantigens. Previously, we have identified 120-kd α-fodrin as an important autoantigen in Sjogren’s syndrome (SS). When healthy C57BL/6 (B6) mice were treated with an ovariectomy (Ovx), we found a significant increase in TUNEL+-apoptotic epithelial cells in the salivary gland cells associated with α-fodrin cleavage during 2 and 3 weeks after Ovx. By contrast, no apoptotic cells were found in estrogen receptor-α knockout mice. In in vitro studies using primary cultured mouse salivary gland cells and human salivary gland cells, we found a cleavage product of 120-kd α-fodrin in cells that had undergone tamoxifen (Tam)-induced apoptosis through caspase activation, especially caspase-1. Adoptive transfer of α-fodrin-reactive T cells into Ovx-B6 and -SCID mice resulted in the development of autoimmune exocrinopathy quite similar to SS. These results suggest that estrogen deficiency exerts a crucial influence on autoantigen cleavage, and may cause, in part, autoimmune exocrinopathy in postmenopausal women.