Immune cell clusters accompany Sjögren’s-like changes in mice
Experiments in 36-week-old female Nishiura mice found immune cell clusters, antibodies against a protein of their own and reduced saliva secretion.
Our read
Mechanisms- Studied:
- Experiments in female Nishiura mice
- What changed:
- Female Nishiura mice developed tertiary lymphoid structures in their spleen and salivary glands, and secreted less saliva
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An animal experiment in 36-week-old female Nishiura mice found a state resembling Sjögren’s disease in the spleen and saliva-producing glands beneath the jaw. These tissues contained tertiary lymphoid structures—organized immune cell clusters—formed by cells associated with senescence, a state in which cells stop dividing. The mice produced antibodies against one of their own proteins and secreted less saliva.
Growing two types of spleen-derived immune cells together for 48 hours increased antibody production and the release of senescence-associated substances. Transplanting spleen-derived senescence-associated helper T cells, a type of immune cell, from Nishiura mice into recipient mice expanded the clusters in their salivary glands. Separately, a retrospective tissue study of seven people with Sjögren’s disease, aged 50–70, found that scar-forming capacity per senescence-associated helper T cell increased with age.
Why it matters
The authors suggest that immune cell clusters associated with senescence in saliva-producing glands are a key mechanism in Sjögren’s disease.
Caveats
Mouse experiments do not establish that the same mechanism operates in people. The human findings came from a retrospective tissue study of seven people and cannot establish cause and effect.
- Co-culture of b220+/pd-1+ cells with sa-tfh cells
- Spleen-derived sa-tfh cells
- Cellular senescence
- Immune response
- Saliva secretion
- Mice
The paper
Senescence-associated tertiary lymphoid structures in Sjögren's disease model nishiura mice
Hyogo Medical University
Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, Jun 14, 2026, Open access
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