Abnormalities in peripheral B cell memory of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: To delineate disturbances in peripheral B cell memory in primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS).

Methods: Isotype-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy-chain transcripts were analyzed in single-sorted CD19+,CD27- naive and CD19+,CD27+ memory B cells from patients with primary SS and normal healthy control subjects.

Results: A significantly higher frequency of B cells expressing mu-, alpha-, and/or gamma-chain transcripts were found in patients with primary SS compared with controls (58.