Immune Profile of Saliva and Serum of Patients With Primary Sjögren´s Syndrome (pSS)

April 28, 2026 updated by: University of Sao Paulo General Hospital

Analysis of the Immune Profile of Saliva and Serum of Patients With Primary Sjögren´s Syndrome

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease, which mainly affects the lacrimal and salivary glands, leading to sicca syndrome. pSS has a probable autoimmune etiology, with the production of several autoantibodies such as antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-Ro/SS-A, anti-La/SS-B, rheumatoid factor (RF) and cryoglobulins. Recently, our group described a high frequency of antibodies directed to DNase I in the serum of pSS patients and these antibodies were associated with the presence of the anti-Epstein-Barr (EBV) early antigen diffuse (anti-EA-D). This finding becomes interesting considering the recent description of reduction of DNase I activity in the tear of patients with xerophthalmia of different causes, which would result in an accumulation of extracellular DNA and neutrophilic inflammatory infiltrate on the ocular surface. This hypothesis is reinforced by the observation that treatment with DNase I as eye drops results in clinical improvement of dry eye. In addition, it has been shown that periodontal disease is an aggravating factor of xerostomia in pSS, as it leads to a chronic inflammatory process and, consequently, to the destruction of minor salivary glands. Therefore, the objective of the present study will be to evaluate the presence of antibodies directed to DNase I in the saliva and serum of pSS patients and its possible capacity of inhibition of the enzyme before and after treatment of periodontal disease. Such findings will be correlated with the presence of periodontal disease, with the glandular and extraglandular manifestations of SSp and also with the presence of EBV DNA in the serum and oral lavage of these patients.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
80

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Brazil
      • São Paulo, Brazil
        • Hospital Das Clinicas Da Faculdade De Medicina Da USP
    • São Paulo
      • São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, 05403-000
        • Rheumatology Division of Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo
      • São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, 05403-000
        • Hospital Das Clinicas Da Faculdade De Medicina Da USP

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome according to 2016 EULAR/ACR Classification Criteria, and healthy people without any rheumatic disease/symptoms of sicca syndrome
  • Patients regularly followed at the Sjögren's Syndrome outpatient clinic of Rheumatology Division

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Use of drugs that cause oral dryness (mainly antidepressants and antihistamines).
  • Patients with history of head and neck radiation therapy.
  • Current smoking.
  • Pregnancy and/or lactation.
  • History of periodontal treatment for at least 6 months prior to enrollment.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: pSS patients
We will evaluate 40 patients with pSS (EULAR/ACR Classification Criteria, 2016) of both sexes before and after periodontal disease treatment.
Procedure: Periodontal scaling
Periodontal scaling and root planing
Other Names:
  • Clinical periodontal disease treatment
Active Comparator: Healthy individuals
We will evaluate 40 healthy controls before and after periodontal disease treatment.
Procedure: Periodontal scaling
Periodontal scaling and root planing
Other Names:
  • Clinical periodontal disease treatment

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline Xerostomia Inventory Score at 3 months
Time Frame: Change from baseline Xerostomia Inventory Score at 3 months
Change from baseline Xerostomia Inventory Score at 3 months. An international validated questionnaire of dry mouth symptoms ranging from 11 to 55 points.
Change from baseline Xerostomia Inventory Score at 3 months
Change from baseline activity of DNAse I enzyme in saliva at 3 months
Time Frame: Change from baseline activity of DNAse I enzyme in saliva at 3 months
Change from baseline activity of DNAse I enzyme in saliva at 3 months measured by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).
Change from baseline activity of DNAse I enzyme in saliva at 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline interleukin-1b (IL-1b) concentration in saliva at 3 months
Time Frame: Change from baseline interleukin-1b (IL-1b) concentration in saliva at 3 months
Change from baseline interleukin-1b (IL-1b) concentration in saliva at 3 months measured by Luminex Assay.
Change from baseline interleukin-1b (IL-1b) concentration in saliva at 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Sao Paulo General Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 1, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 13, 2021

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
January 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 3, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 16, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 18, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 28, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IPS - pSS
  • 2015/03756-4 (Other Grant/Funding Number: FAPESP)
  • 2018/09937-9 (Other Grant/Funding Number: FAPESP)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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