Immunogenetics of autoimmune exocrinopathy in the nod mouse: more than meets the eye.

Sjogren’s syndrome is defined as a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder primarily affecting the lacrimal and salivary exocrine glands. However, the disorder has also been associated with numerous extraglandular manifestations affecting such diverse tissues as the cardiovascular, central nervous, and renal systems.1 Diagnostic criteria include oral and/or ocular dryness, focal lymphocytic infiltrates in the exocrine tissues, and the presence of autoantibodies in patient sera, particularly against the nuclear factors SSA/Ro and SS-B/La. Due to inconsistencies in the various diagnostic scales, evaluation of disease prevalence worldwide is difficult and complicated further by the chronic and inconsistent nature of the symptoms in patients. 1.2