Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Sjögren syndrome

A leading role for interferon as a treatment target in Sjögren syndrome

No drugs are yet approved for the treatment of primary Sjögren syndrome, despite a large number of clinical trials. Non-conventional approaches can help to identify novel therapeutic targets. Using a drug-repositioning transcriptomic approach, interferon has emerged once again as a major target for intervention in this disease process.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Type I interferon signalling and treatment targets.

References

  1. Bodewes, I. L. A., Björk, A., Versnel, M. A. & Wahren-Herlenius, M. Innate immunity and interferons in the pathogenesis of Sjögren’s syndrome. Rheumatology (Oxford) 60, 2561–2573 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Ivashkiv, L. B. & Donlin, L. T. Regulation of type I interferon responses. Nat. Rev. Immunol. 14, 36–49 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Felten, R. et al. Identification of new candidate drugs for primary Sjögren’s syndrome using a drug repurposing transcriptomic approach. Rheumatology (Oxford) https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kead096 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Verstappen, G. M., Pringle, S., Bootsma, H. & Kroese, F. G. M. Epithelial–immune cell interplay in primary Sjögren syndrome salivary gland pathogenesis. Nat. Rev. Rheumatol. 17, 333–348 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Juarez, M. et al. A phase 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, proof-of-concept study of oral seletalisib in primary Sjögren’s syndrome. Rheumatology (Oxford) 60, 1364–1375 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Yang, L. et al. Histone deacetylase 3 contributes to the antiviral innate immunity of macrophages by interacting with FOXK1 to regulate STAT1/2 transcription. Cell Rep. 38, 110302 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Nusinzon, I. & Horvath, C. M. Positive and negative regulation of the innate antiviral response and beta interferon gene expression by deacetylation. Mol. Cell. Biol. 26, 3106–3113 (2006).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Joshi, S., Kaur, S., Kroczynska, B. & Platanias, L. C. Mechanisms of mRNA translation of interferon stimulated genes. Cytokine 52, 123–127 (2010).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Verstappen, G. M. et al. The transcriptome of paired major and minor salivary gland tissue in patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome. Front. Immunol. 12, 681941 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Price, E. et al. Safety and efficacy of filgotinib, lanraplenib and tirabrutinib in Sjögren’s syndrome: a randomized, phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Rheumatology (Oxford) 61, 4797–4808 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This publication is part of project number 09150162010166 of the Veni research programme, which is financed by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The authors are supported by a Dutch Arthritis Society (ReumaNL) Long Term Project Grant (LLP-29).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frans G. M. Kroese.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors are co-applicants on an unrestricted grant by AstraZeneca for NCT05383677 (ANISE-II trial). G.M.V. received consultancy fees from Argenx. F.G.M.K. received consultancy fees from ArgenX and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Verstappen, G.M., Kroese, F.G.M. A leading role for interferon as a treatment target in Sjögren syndrome. Nat Rev Rheumatol 19, 468–469 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-023-00991-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-023-00991-9

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing